pretty much everything she could do to cheer me up. i remember when they went iowa state she got me what she thought was a disney movie, but it was actually the eddie murphy standup special delirious. and we played in the car on the way home, and when she heard the things and murphy was saying, she tried to take it away. but then she noticed something, for the first time in a long time i was laughing again. i don't understand it, i really don't and i never will, but sometimes comedy is really the only way forward through tragedy. >> well said, pete. with that, pete davidson will take us off the air tonight. on that very important note, i wish you a safe and goodnight. from all of our colleagues across the networks of nbc news, thank you for staying up late with us. i will see at the end of tomorrow.

>> tonight, we are closely watching multiple developing stories that have the world on edge. and israel, thousands of troops and tanks remain on the border with gaza awaiting orders for unanticipated ground offensive. as gaza descends deeper into a humanitarian crisis. a united nations agency says gaza is, quote, running out of life, with dwindling supplies of food, water, energy, and medicine. up to 600 americans also remain stuck in gaza as the rafah border crossing into egypt is still closed. just hours ago, we learned hamas is -- foreign hostages when the necessary conditions are available. but until that happens, and if that happens, the families of what we know to be at least 199 hostages await any word about their loved ones who are being

held hostage by hamas. the tara group also released video footage of a hostage for the first time today. it shows a 21-year-old woman speaking to the camera under duress. and it is unclear when it was actually recorded. right now, it's 3 am in israel, and secretary of state anthony blinken just concluded a marathon meeting with prime minister netanyahu, stretching more than seven hours through two rounds of air raids and -- secretary blinken is expected to make an announcement at any moment. we will bring that to you live as soon as we hear it starting. in iran, tehran's former minister gave a stark warning today saying, quote, if the crimes and gaza do not stop immediately, new fronts will be open. that's what we're already seeing, action on the border.

this comes while israel moves to evacuate -- nearest border with lebanon, as tensions are flaring up with the iranian-backed terror group, hezbollah, one of their proxies. in brussels, two people were shot dead just hours ago, and the suspect is still at large. while the motive is still not clear, it's being investigated as a terror attack. authorities in belgian say the suspect posted on social media that he was inspired by the islamic state. -- brett and brussels to its highest level. back here at home, president biden is strongly considering a trip to israel. those discussions are happening in the white house as we speak. as soon as this week. brie u.s. officials said planning are underway, including on the ground in israel for a potential visit. this news comes after the -- trip to colorado today, instead meeting with his national security team to discuss the escalating conflict in the

middle east. and in illinois, a family gathered today at for the funeral of a six-year-old palestinian boy who was brutally stabbed to death in his home but his landlord. authorities say he was killed because he was muslim, and the department of justice has now opened a federal hate crimes investigation into this senseless, horrific attack. we clearly have so much news to cover tonight. we're gonna get into all of it, and we have the perfect people to do it with. senator chris murphy and former governor chris christie will be among my guests, but we start our coverage tonight with john brennan, former director of the cia, and jeremy bash, who served as chief of staff about the cia and the pentagon in the

obama administration. clearly a lot going on. i appreciate you both being here with the this evening. director brennan, i want to start with you. hamas says they're prepared to receive the non-israeli prisoners when they felt the conditions have been met. -- what they've also said is they will release foreign nationals, not israelis. how do you think this could impact israel's plans for a ground invasion? >> well, certainly, israel has to lytton's to these office. i seem to believe that hamas lacks any credibility at this point.

and they may be facing internal divisions within hamas, as well as external pressure coming from arab states such as egypt and qatar, to be at least somewhat accommodating. but i do think it's an effort to try to delay or to make it even more difficult for netanyahu and the israeli war cabinet to make the decision to move in. if there is some prospect or hope that hamas is dangling -- >> director brennan. i don't want to cut you off, but we're gonna go directly to secretary blinken to hear his remarks and come back to you. >> he's coming here to do the following. first, the president will reaffirm the united states solidarity with israel. and our ironclad commitment to its security. president biden will look and make clear, as he's done unequivocally since the massive slaughter of more than 1400 people, including at least 30 americans, that israel has the right, and indeed the duty, to

defend its people from hamas and other terrorists, and to prevent future attacks. the president will hear from israel what it needs to defend its people as we continue to work with congress to meet those needs. second, president biden will underscore our crystal clear message to any actor, state or non state, trying to take advantage of this crisis to attack israel. don't. >> it's one of the main missions of secretary blinken in the region to sit down with his egyptian counterparts and pressured them to work diligently to open that border. the reason that border hasn't been opened does because hamas has wanted the issue, and egypt has not wanted the people. let me say that again. hamas has wanted the issue to hand in the civilian population and not let the math. they control one side of that border. and egypt does not want those palestinians to come into egypt. so really, it really falls on hamas and egypt to work this out, to open that land border, to let people out, to let humanitarians assistance in. we happen to have 600 americans

who are there. that's our number one priority from the perspective of the united states department of state. but there are hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians who need humanitarian relief, and who need that crossing to be open so they can get to egypt and get to safety. >> director brennan, so much happened today in the news, and one of the things that happened is, of course, this shooting today that left two people dead in brussels. we don't know the motive, we don't know a lot of details at this point. it's gonna take some time.

but you're someone who is focused on watching out for and predicting loan wolf tax, you know, people who are copycats. how concerned are you about that and some of the other threats of violence you've seen in europe and the united states in the last couple of days? >> very concerned. i'm concerned about what hamas might have planned in terms of carrying out terrorist attacks inside of israel with some of the sleepers that are still there, that were able to infiltrate the borders as part of these terrorist attacks. -- the copycat's, the ones that

are out there, this awful shooting in belgium that does seem to be motivated by events in gaza. and so, i do think it's very prudent for officials around the globe to be able to take conditional security measures at synagogues, a jewish community centers, a potential targets, but also, as we saw, tragically, in chicago, emotions are running high on all sides here. and so, i do think that this period of time is one that we have to be very watchful in terms of what might still happen.

we're still in the very, i think, early stages of what is going to unfortunately be a protracted conflict that can have manifestations far side of the gaza israel area. >> director john brennan, jeremy bash, thank you so much for being with me and hanging with me through the announcement of secretary blinken. i appreciate you being here with me tonight. for those just joining us moments ago, secretary of state anthony blinken announced that president biden will be visiting israel on wednesday, also announcing that the united states and israel have agreed to develop a plan that will enable humanitarian aid to reach civilians and gaza. this comes as hamas says it is holding between 200 and 250 hostages and total, and they announced that they will

release the foreign hostages if the necessary conditions are available. and gaza, the humanitarian crisis is worsening by the era. palestinians have resorted to drinking salty tap water since there is no fuel to run the water treatment plant. there's still no update on when aid supplies can get into gaza since the rafah border crossing into egypt remains closed. join me now is democratic senator chris murphy, he's a member of the foreign relations committee. senator, thank you so much again for joining me this evening. we just learned that president biden will visit israel, and i just wanted to get your reaction to that news, and what you hope you will accomplish on that trip. >> well, this will be an absolutely extraordinary visit, coming just days after these unconscionable terrorist attacks, and at the very moment, that israel is contemplating its next steps. i think joe biden has shown the world why american leadership

is still indispensable, and i think it's going to send an incredibly strong signal to hamas, but the other enemies of israel and the united states, when joe biden in benjamin netanyahu and his war cabinet are standing shoulder to shoulder in support of the israeli people. i'm very glad to hear the news today of a plan for humanitarian aid to reach gaza. that's absolutely critical. there doesn't have to be a choice made here between going after those who carried out these heinous crimes and making sure that families and gaza, especially children in gaza, are not unduly harmed, and again, a really exceptional moment. seven hours of meetings with the secretary of state and israeli leaders, once again, showing how deeply committed the biden administration is to helping israel hold to account the people who committed these

crimes, but getting it right. >> senator, there was also news today, i'll just note, hamas is not exactly a trusted source of information, but there was news that they would be potentially open to releasing foreign nationals, including american citizens, at the right time. now that, of course, does not include israeli citizens. what do you make of that? and should that deal be accepted if that actually becomes a reality? >> well, it's obviously really critical that these hostages be released immediately. and we are working, as we know, through the qataris, who do have a conduit for hamas to try to get this release as soon as possible. i think we should be careful to cede to demands being placed on these hostages release. obviously, we want to get them back as quickly as possible. i think hamas is coming to the realization that holding these hostages does them much more harm than good, and my hope is that they'll be out of harm's way soon. >> it also gives them some leverage, and if they keep the israelis, it's hard to imagine how they're gonna get them back. very difficult circumstance. i wanted to ask you about the department of defense's announcement today about the deployment, or asking members of the military to beat prepared to deploy, i should say, to the middle east. we're told if they were deployed, they would go to a nearby country to be prepared to support israel in the war against hamas. what do you think that support

should look like? are you comfortable with what you've seen announced? either more details you're looking for about the deployment? >> so, we have not received any briefing on what the nature of that deployment would be. but clearly, we are contemplating transferring some significant defensive equipment to israel. much of that equipment needs u.s. support and backup. and we also have significant u.s. assets in the region. we have thousands of u.s. troops there, and as this conflict threatens to widen, it just makes sense for us to bring increased assets to bear in the region to send the signal to iran and others that they want to increase the scope of this conflict, but they're eventually going to come head to head with the united states. so in order to best support israel, especially as we flow

more lethal aid to them, there's going to need to be some american personnel to provide logistical support, but we also want to mix in that small message of deterrence to others in the region. >> the white house wants congress to pass an aipac. you want -- aid package to israel. -- aide to palestinians to be included. do you think it should include specific assistance for gaza? how do you think that should be structured? it's obviously gonna be difficult to deliver that, but they're in such dire need. >> well, this announcement, likely, makes the inclusion of aid more viable. there's obviously a question as to whether we were gonna be able to get that aid in, now we might be able to have a pathway to get aid into gaza. the u. n. has already issued an appeal, and i'm pressing the administration and my colleagues to make sure the

united states does its part to meet that appeal. others will contribute funding as well. but certainly, and makes sense to flow forward the weapons, the interceptors, that israel needs, along with the money necessary to deal with the humanitarian consequences of this war. that's how we approach conflict overseas. we put in the money necessary to fight the bad guys, but then we also put in the money to try to hold civilians as harmless as possible. and we should simply stay true to that historic strategy, that historic plan, as we help israel go after hamas inside gaza. >> you're very familiar, senator, with the dynamics in the region. you've been working on these issues for so many years. i was asking my prior guests about egypt in the rafah

crossing, because there's been so much conflicting information about what's happening there and why it's closed. what is your assessment of what's happening in their? what needs to happen in order for the rafah crossing to open? it is up to 600 americans, of course, stuck in gaza right now. >> yeah. i will say this is very frustrating. i understand egypt's concern, which is that if the crossing is completely opened, you would have a massive flow of refugees into the sinai, which egypt can simply not handle. but there is a way to have a limited opening so that americans can leave and supplies, humanitarian relief, can come in.

egypt is a supposed ally of the united states. in fact, the only country that gets more military aid coming from taxpayers in the united states than egypt is israel. they're the second biggest recipient of u.s. military aid. so it is frustrating that it has been so difficult to convince egypt to open up that crossing for these limited purposes. my hope is that tomorrow, you will see that crossing opened, and you will see americans coming out, humanitarian aid going in, and will no longer have to be in negotiation with egypt over this. >> egypt is obviously a very important partner and the national security front of the united states. as you mentioned, the united states -- should not be part of the discussion if they don't open up this border crossing? >> well, the idea of this military aid is that it binds egypt to us. i've been a critic of years to the amount of military aid that we give to egypt, and the supporters of it say it's absolutely necessary in order to make sure that when the chips are down, when a crisis is in our midst, that egypt well ally with us, or side with us. and right now, we're having a really hard time getting egypt to just do the basics of opening up that crossing. so of course, if this continues to be an issue, if we can't commit -- convince the egyptians to let americans out and let aid in, of course that's gonna have consequences for our relationship with egypt in the future. >> and a reminder of the refugees having very few places to go, and that's also a big challenge. senator chris murphy, thank you so much for joining me this evening. appreciate your time. republican presidential candidate chris christie joins me after a quick break. i'll get his reaction to tonight's breaking news.

stay with us. -- it's going to send an incredibly strong signal to hamas, but the other enemies of israel and the united states, when joe biden in benjamin netanyahu and his war cabinet are standing shoulder to

shoulder in support of the israeli people. i'm very glad to hear the news today of a plan for humanitarian aid to reach gaza. that's absolutely critical. there doesn't have to be a choice made here between going after those who carried out these heinous crimes and making sure that families and gaza, especially children in gaza, are not unduly harmed, and again, a really exceptional moment. seven hours of meetings with the secretary of state and israeli leaders, once again, showing how deeply committed the biden administration is to helping israel hold to account the people who committed these crimes, but getting it right.

>> senator, there was also news today, i'll just note, hamas is not exactly a trusted source of information, but there was news that they would be potentially open to releasing foreign nationals, including american citizens, at the right time. now that, of course, does not include israeli citizens. what do you make of that? and should that deal be accepted if that actually becomes a reality? >> well, it's obviously really

critical that these hostages be released immediately. and we are working, as we know, through the qataris, who do have a conduit for hamas to try to get this release as soon as possible. i think we should be careful to cede to demands being placed on these hostages release. obviously, we want to get them back as quickly as possible. i think hamas is coming to the realization that holding these hostages does them much more harm than good, and my hope is that they'll be out of harm's way soon. >> it also gives them some leverage, and if they keep the israelis, it's hard to imagine

how they're gonna get them back. very difficult circumstance. i wanted to ask you about the department of defense's announcement today about the deployment, or asking members of the military to beat prepared to deploy, i should say, to the middle east. we're told if they were deployed, they would go to a nearby country to be prepared to support israel in the war against hamas. what do you think that support should look like? are you comfortable with what you've seen announced? either more details you're looking for about the deployment? >> so, we have not received any briefing on what the nature of that deployment would be. but clearly, we are contemplating transferring some significant defensive equipment to israel.

much of that equipment needs u.s. support and backup. and we also have significant u.s. assets in the region. we have thousands of u.s. troops there, and as this conflict threatens to widen, it just makes sense for us to bring increased assets to bear in the region to send the signal to iran and others that they want to increase the scope of this conflict, but they're eventually going to come head to head with the united states. so in order to best support israel, especially as we flow more lethal aid to them, there's going to need to be some american personnel to provide logistical support, but we also want to mix in that small message of deterrence to others in the region. >> the white house wants congress to pass an aipac. you want -- aid package to israel. -- aide to palestinians to be included.

do you think it should include specific assistance for gaza? how do you think that should be structured? it's obviously gonna be difficult to deliver that, but they're in such dire need. >> well, this announcement, likely, makes the inclusion of aid more viable. there's obviously a question as to whether we were gonna be able to get that aid in, now we might be able to have a pathway to get aid into gaza. the u. n. has already issued an appeal, and i'm pressing the administration and my colleagues to make sure the united states does its part to meet that appeal. others will contribute funding as well. but certainly, and makes sense to flow forward the weapons, the interceptors, that israel needs, along with the money necessary to deal with the humanitarian consequences of this war. that's how we approach conflict overseas. we put in the money necessary to fight the bad guys, but then we also put in the money to try

to hold civilians as harmless as possible. and we should simply stay true to that historic strategy, that historic plan, as we help israel go after hamas inside gaza. >> you're very familiar, senator, with the dynamics in the region. you've been working on these issues for so many years. i was asking my prior guests about egypt in the rafah crossing, because there's been so much conflicting information about what's happening there and why it's closed. what is your assessment of what's happening in their? what needs to happen in order for the rafah crossing to open? it is up to 600 americans, of course, stuck in gaza right now. >> yeah. i will say this is very

frustrating. i understand egypt's concern, which is that if the crossing is completely opened, you would have a massive flow of refugees into the sinai, which egypt can simply not handle. but there is a way to have a limited opening so that americans can leave and supplies, humanitarian relief, can come in. egypt is a supposed ally of the united states. in fact, the only country that gets more military aid coming from taxpayers in the united states than egypt is israel. they're the second biggest recipient of u.s. military aid. so it is frustrating that it has been so difficult to convince egypt to open up that crossing for these limited purposes. my hope is that tomorrow, you will see that crossing opened, and you will see americans coming out, humanitarian aid going in, and will no longer have to be in negotiation with egypt over this. >> egypt is obviously a very important partner and the national security front of the united states. as you mentioned, the united states -- should not be part of the discussion if they don't open up this border crossing? >> well, the idea of this military aid is that it binds egypt to us. i've been a critic of years to the amount of military aid that we give to egypt, and the supporters of it say it's absolutely necessary in order to make sure that when the chips are down, when a crisis is in our midst, that egypt well ally with us, or side with us. and right now, we're having a really hard time getting egypt to just do the basics of

opening up that crossing. so of course, if this continues conv future. to go, and thsenato you re me thi evening. appreciate your time republican presidentia candidate chris christie joins me after a quick break i'll get his reaction to tonight's breaking news. stay with us of soap. recharge quickly with any usb port. boo-gie on over to blendjet.com and order yours today. >> we're following some major

breaking news tonight from secretary of state anthony blinken who announced earlier this hour that president biden will be traveling to israel this week and a show of solidarity with our closest ally in the middle east. as the israel hamas war rages on, we also have news tonight on the possibility of u.s. involvement in the ground in the region. a defense official tells and we see news roughly 2000 u.s. troops have been told to prepare for a possible deployment to support israel. those troops include service members with a variety of specialties, for medical support to explosives experts. if given the orders, they would not necessarily go to israel or gaza, but to a nearby country to be able to support israel as

the war continues. joining me now is republican presidential candidate chris christie. thanks for joining me this evening. i do want to start with the news we just learned in the last 30 minutes. getting your reaction to the president biden's decision to travel to israel on wednesday. i know you disagree with a lot, but do you think that's the right move? >> it is. look, i think there should be absolutely no doubt and anyone in the world's minds about whether there's any daylight between the united states and israel, and it should be none. and i think the president of the united states deciding to go over there, see things for himself, and talk in person to prime minister netanyahu, and the rest of his cabinet, makes

a great deal of sense. and i think it's a good thing for the president to be doing. >> i wanted to also get your reaction. there's a lot of news today abt 2000 u.s. troops being notified about deployment across the middle east. we're learning details about what they'll be doing. but do you think there's the scenario in which american troops should be fighting in this wire? what kind of role would you be>n troops should be fighting in this war. and mostly, jen, because i don't believe they're gonna be necessary. i think the israeli defense forces are some of the best trained military men and women in the world, and i think that they'll do an incredibly good job at doing what needs to be done to suppress hamas, and to bring peace back to their country, first and foremost. and to the rest of the region. so i don't think that would be necessary, and i think if there are some troops who are needed

to play a support role in a country outside of israel, or outside of gaza in the way you just described, that something that i would consider. but i think that what we need to do more than anything else is provide them with the military hardware support that they need to keep up with the awful terrorist attack that was perpetrated on israel, and to make sure that they have everything they need to defend themselves. these rallies are proud people, and i think they're gonna want to do this on their own. >> richard, one of the trickiest issues around this conflict is, of course, the hostages. and all the families who are just suffering and looking for updates. richard engel's reporting that hamas says they're prepared to release the non-israeli hostages when the conditions are right.

obviously, they're not a trustworthy source here, but should a deal be struck to get american citizens out, even if it leaves israelis and the hands of hamas? would you take that deal? >> look, i don't know what it means when the conditions are right. the conditions were right for them never to be taken in the first place, and the conditions are right at any moment since then for them to return these hostages, both to israel and to the united states. what i would say is, look, i'm not in the mood to make any deal with hamas. they should be returning these innocent civilians exactly where they belong, back to israel where they were taken from in the first place. so i'm not in the mood, jen, to be making any deals with hamas, nor do i, take as you mentioned, there weren't as credible at all. i think this is just a way of them trying to lower the heat for them having done an awful, awful act against civilians, murdering them, decapitating them, and ultimately, with many of them, capturing them in holding them hostage. those are not the kind of people you're looking to make a deal with. those are the kind of people who should be considering what

the alternative is for them returning these folks. it's not gonna be good for them. >> there's no question hamas is a horrific organization that district -- committed an act of terror, but they're also the ones holding these hostages. you're running for president. if you are in the oval office, what steps would you be taking to bring them home? >> look, i'd be using our intelligence community and our intelligence relationships around the world to attempt to locate them, and then i would consider all the options that our military and intelligence team laid out in front of me. we have done hostage rescues before. that would be something that is beyond the table to be considered. but you don't know what the circumstances are on the ground. i certainly don't. i trust president biden does, but i'm not getting those briefings yet. it's hard for me to say.

but i would use the intelligence and military assets that we have in the region to make sure we locate where these hostages are, determine, if we can, whether they're safe or not, and then to make a decision about the best way to have them released, and one of those things might be a hostage rescue mission. >> it sounds like a military operation. there's also, of course, negotiations through diplomatic channels. the united states doesn't talk directly to hamas, but qatar and turkey -- at those options you would consider if you are president? negotiation through those third-party countries? >> i wouldn't say negotiations. i'd say discussions. i don't think we should be giving hamas anything for the release of these innocent civilians. so i'm back away a little bit

from the term negotiations. i think we should be involved in discussions with intermediary groups to find out what's the condition of these folks? are they being fed? are they being treated appropriately? are they following all of the various rules that go along with how you treat these folks? and then, make a determination whether or not there's anything we could do to help facilitate and precipitate that release. but i'm not looking to negotiate right now with hamas. i don't think we're in a position where we'd want to negotiate with folks, because they're simply not trustworthy. >> it is sometimes the only option, but obviously, there's lots being considered right now.

i wanted to ask you about iran. you've obviously been very outspoken about your views about the threat of iran. their language is growing increasingly threatening toward israel with the iranian foreign minister saying today it's possible to imagine preemptive steps against israel. now it's also clear that they're saber-rattling's, so it's not certain that the backup. but if you are commander-in-chief, would you be considering preemptive military option? what would be appropriate for the united states at this moment, as it relates to iran? >> jen, i wouldn't take anything off the table. i would quibble a bit with the idea that their language is getting even more hostile to israel. this is a regime that absolutely believes in the destruction in disintegration of israel off the face of the earth.

i don't know that you get a whole lot more hostile than that, to tell you the truth. and the fact is, i don't think we should take anything off the table in terms of dealing with iran. let's remember. what i believe was clearly an iran if not sponsored -- an attack that was given permission to go forward by iran that killed americans in israel. when americans are killed on foreign soil, and that murder is, you know, encouraged, for at least permitted by foreign government, we shouldn't take any option off the table for dealing with iran. and so, i don't rule that out, because i think that we should

keep every option available to us, given that this is a regime i am confident was involved in an action that resulted in the murder of americans. >> why do you need to say hamas obviously wouldn't exist without iran. there is still exploration of the intelligence on that front from within israel and within the united states that could take some time, as we all know. take some time, as we all know attention hearing loss sufferers! do you struggle to hear loved ones? do you have trouble keeping up with conversations?

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>> today, a judge overseeing the federal election interference case against donald trump granted a limited gag order against the former

president. -- buyers trump from making statements about potential witnesses, and for making disparaging comments about jack smith and his team. as well as court staff and personnel. judge check-in explain her decision in the courtroom today saying that mr. trump may vigorously seek public support as a presidential candidate, criticize the current administration, and assert his belief that this prosecution is politically motivated, but those critical first amendment freedoms do not allow him to launch a pre trial smear campaign against participating government staff, the families, and foreseeable witnesses. i cannot imagine any other criminal case in which a criminal defendant could call prosecutors deranged ortholog. no other defendant would be allowed to do so, and i'm not going to allow and in this case. the of judge chutkan. back with me is former louisiana governor, presidential candidate chris christie. governor, donald trump is already complaining about the gag order. i want to take a listen. you probably see this, but everybody may not have, just what trump said a couple hours ago. >> the judge gave a gag order today.

did you hear that? on speech. which i believe is totally unconstitutional, what she did. the judge gave a gag order. the judge doesn't like me too much. her whole life is not liking me. >> i think -- what violates the gag order and what doesn't. did he already violate the gag order by some planning about the judge? what's your view on that? >> he probably didn't violate the guy quarter, but look, he will. that's what we know, jen. he will. and the fact is that this is the problem with having a republican candidate for president who is under indictment and for different jurisdictions. these kind of things happened to defendants all the time. gag orders are often put in place. obviously, i was a u.s. attorney for several years and we saw this happen a number of times. you're not allowed to do this. and because he's running for president, he thinks somehow the law does not apply to him. it does. the fact is that -- i didn't see the horrid order,

but it appears to be a narrowly tailored order that prevents him from polluting a jury pool against certain witnesses and the government. he gets to say it's a politically motivated prosecution, if that's what he wants to say, but he doesn't get to attack individuals, which is his stock in trade. so i think he came close to the line on that one, in saying she doesn't like me, she has a history of not liking me. my guess is it's not gonna take that. if she's gonna column on it, it's gonna take something much more direct. but look, this is the awful temperament of a guy who's currently the front runner for the nomination of my party. and that's why i'm out here calling him out directly on this stuff, jen. because his conduct is beneath the office that he was privileged to hold. >> do you think, well, you said it was narrow, it does read as narrow, should've been wider? and why do you think -- she mentioned sanctions. what do those look like? what should those look like? >> look, typically, sanctions

and those kind of cases can be pretty broad in terms of financial fines, another penalties for violating an order of the court. but look, this is a different situation, jim. because he is running for president of the united states. so i think it should've been narrowly tailored, because he still has the right to go after the office that he's seeking. there's nothing that legally prevents him from doing so. but, you know, i don't think that in the end, his argument about the constitution carries much water. this stuff happens all the time. and by the way, this is a guy who said it would be okay to suspend the constitution if you fought an election was not going your way.

so i don't think anyone should really lean on donald trump too much for constitutional interpretation. >> you mentioned this already. he is the leading candidate, far and away, the republican front runner. what do you think that says about the party right now? but this is a guy who's making threats, he's attacking the prime minister of israel, and he still faraway the front runner in the republican primary. >> well, look, what i think it shows, jen, and you know this from being involved in this business, he is the incumbent. he's won the nomination twice. most republicans think about him more than they think about the rest of us. that's our job over the next three or four months, is to start to, you know, go after that, and what you need to do, jim, as a candidate, as have your views in your thoughts out there is clearly indirectly as possible. you saw today that the super pac that supports our candidacy put out a very direct ad with me calling donald trump a fool, and unfit for office. you saw him ron desantis's super pac put out on that day when he's implying bad things about trump, but they won't even say his name. that's not leadership. that's cowardice. and, you know, the fact is that

if we want to have a race where you can actually beat the front runner, you have to actually run against the front runner. you've seen the rnc trying to restrict argument and debate. we're gonna have a conversation on another network for 45 minutes, and the rnc told us if we did it, would be kept off the debate stage, because trump doesn't want these arguments on the debate stage. he doesn't want them broadly given. that's why, you know, for folks out there who care about this and want to take trump on directly, make sure they keep me off the debate stage. go to chris christie. com, donated, i keep me on the debate stage, and not be there to confront him when he does show up, and he will. >> before i let you go, i want to ask you about what's happening in the house right now, or this week. because you said house republicans need to quit arguing and choose the speaker,

it's obviously holding back aid to israel and ukraine. right now, jim jordan is that candidate. he's a close trump ally, he's someone who actively worked to overturn the 2020 election results, i mean, would he support him becoming the speaker? >> jen, you know, i was a governor, as you know, for two terms in new jersey. one of the things i learned quite painfully is that people who want to be an executive shouldn't get involved and legislative leadership races. and almost always leads to bad things. why is the person -- the person you opposed winds up doing it? let me say this. it's been too long, already, without a speaker. pick someone that they have confidence in that will leave the house on the republican side, and get to the hard work

that needs to be done supporting israel and supporting ukraine and the conflicts against our adversaries, china, russia, north korea, and iran. and we need to do that, support our friends in ukraine in israel. get a speaker, get it done, and let's move on. stop the child's games, the classroom games. it's embarrassing. >> so even if it's jim jordan, not a rousing endorsement, but you're gonna let them decide. >> they get elected to decide, jen. i don't get a vote on speaker. i'm running for president of the united states. >> governor chris christie, thanks for your time this evening. coming up, much more on the big breaking news of the night. president biden will be traveling to israel on wednesday. stay with us, we'll be right back.

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traveling to israel on wednesday, in the show of solidarity with our closest ally in the region. secretary blinken emphasized that the president will be personally briefed on israel's war effort. he will coordinate were efforts to sophistication manatee, nate and secure the release of hostages taken by hamas. additionally, blinken said the visit will underscore the administration's message to israel's enemies to stay out of the war, as we see tensions

escalating on the border. late tonight, an fc spokesperson john kirby said the trip will also include a stop in jordan. president biden will meet with king abdullah ii, as well as -- palestinian authority president ibis. that does it for me tonight. the rachel maddow show starts right now, and clearly, she has a lot of news to cover, and i know she'll be covering all of it. hi, rachel. >> hi, john. i do indeed. thank you so much my friend. thank you home for joining us this hour. there really is a lot going on. we will be talking a lot tonight about the latest news from the israel-hamas war. but not only about, story we have had a bunch of important news breaking today internationally, and in the united states. there's just one of those days, there's a ton to get to. on israel-hamas, this is huge breaking news within the past hour, that president biden himself will travel to israel the day after tomorrow on wednesday.