>> very good day to all of you from msnbc world headquarters in new york. welcome to alex witt reports. we begin with 51 days to go until inauguration when donald trump takes control of the white house and in a surprise visit to mar-a-lago by canadian

prime minister justin trudeau. it came after trump threatened to oppose a 25% tariff on imports from canada and mexico. >> how are you with donald trump? >> the new york times reports on a 2018 email written to trump's defense secretary pick pete hegseth by his mother accusing him of mistreating women for years. she told the new york times she later disavowed those sentiments and apologized in a follow-up email. his lawyer declined to comment but shared a statement from the transition team sane and part miss hegseth regretted her statements and apologized. nbc news has not obtained either email and we will have more in just a moment. a new warning about trump's pick for health. here is trump's former commissioner and current pfizer board member.

>> i think if he follows through on his intentions and i believe he will and i believe he can it will cause strife. you will see measles, mumps and vaccination rates go down and like i said if we lose another 5% which could happen in the next year or two we will see large measles outbreaks. new details on the mass deportation plans and they come from his pick for deputy chief of staff for policy stephen miller. >> he's going to use the state department, the military, the justice department and every other department of government to fully seal that border shut and to ensure that all threats to the safety, security and survival of america are back to their home countries. it will be the largest national program we have seen in this country in generations and under president trump's leadership it will be successful. >> the fbi is investigating

bomb threats targeting democratic lawmakers over the holidays. days after his swatting attacks were launched against some of trump's cabinet and in ministration pics. president biden today is wrapping up his holiday in nantucket where he weighed in on the trump transition and challenges ahead. >> i want to make sure this transition go smoothly. all the talk about what he's going to do and not do i think we may be a little bit of internal reckoning on his part. congress is ready across the board. it's going to require what usually happens. compromise. >> also new today, the president is celebrating 20 million new business applications since he took office. we have reporters and analysts in place for all these new developing story lines and we will begin with allie raffa joining us from west palm beach, florida. what are we learning about the

canadian prime minister's visit? >> we don't know too much more. we have requested a readout from the trump transition team about this meeting between the president-elect and prime minister trudeau and we are waiting on that. as you saw, as he was leaving his palm beach hotel this morning, trudeau called this a productive conversation he had with the president-elect and minutes ago president-elect trump posted on his social media platform calling this an excellent meeting that he had with trudeau. canadian prime minister justin trudeau spotted in palm beach, florida friday night eating with president-elect donald trump at his mar-a-lago estate. trudeau following through on this commitment made hours before. >> we will work together to meet some concerns. >> as pressure mounts on the prime minister persuade the president-elect to drop his threat to impose a 25% tariff on goods imported from canada and mexico unless the u.s. to

neighbors curb the flow of undocumented migrants and drugs across its borders. >> that should raise prizes for american citizens. >> the meeting comes two days after the president-elect calls with mexican president after which he claims she has agreed to stop migration through mexico effectively closing our southern border. the mexican president disputes that sing mexico's position is not to close borders but to build bridges. describing the conversation as pleasant and adding the two did not discuss tariffs. the back-and-forth over the president-elect plans coming as new questions emerge over his picks for secretary of defense. the new york times overnight publishing a 2018 email from penelope hegseth. she writes on behalf of all the women and i know it's many you have abused in some way, i say get some help and take an honest look at yourself.

penelope had seth telling the times she apologized in another email and no longer stood by her comments. nbc news has not seen or obtained either email. the trump transition team responding overnight calling the report shameful and out of context. >> as far as the confirmation process for headset and the rest of the cabinet picks that is expected to begin in january once the new congress is sworn in. >> thank you very much. breaking news on this weekend, the philadelphia airport is reporting a power outage it out. that includes airlines united delta and jetblue. no word on the cause. officials say passengers should be checking with their airlines. more on the holiday travel. let's go to maggie vespa at chicago's o'hare airport. sometimes you don't want to go

to chicago but philadelphia is where you don't want to be right now. what about the passengers there? what are they telling you? >> they have been saying they are anxious, they are very aware the weather is picking up out east. some i'm sure aware now of issues we are seeing in philadelphia. in the meantime they are cognizant of the fact they are part of a massive record- setting travel search. the airports across the country over the last few days this has been consistent across the entire holiday week. aaa saying 80 million americans have been traveling either by air, most also driving, for the thanks giving week. that sets the record tsa setting records, faa set a record number of flights this week so it hasn't stopped. in the meantime, the weather could throw a wrench into all of this looking at the counsel for today for delays and cancellations, they started stacking up pretty much right away this morning. we have seen more than 2000

delays today. 57 cancellations today. compare that to yesterday. we already topped friday overall for the entire day cancellation count and you can see delays topped out at 4000. with the weather getting worse on the east coast we will keep an eye on the numbers. look at the misery map. maybe sometimes you don't want to be in chicago. today is one of those days. o'hare is getting hit the hardest out of all american airports as far as delays and cancellations. with all of that people here are very aware they have to show up early and keep track of their flight as that departure time approaches. >> last year we had some problems. we thought is that going to happen this year? >> he saw the crowds what did you think? >> thank god we have tsa precheck. basically. >> i think that every time i have to fly.

thank god i have tsa precheck. the crowds have been coming in waves throughout the day. download your airlines apps, keep track of your flight as it approaches. have a plan b and plan around the weather, use those apps for flying to rebut. tsa precheck, best advice we can give. >> best investment ever. i agree. i was complaining about being delayed but i guess it's better than being canceled. i was on one of those 4000 flights. here i am with you. >> that's so true. >> it is what it is. thank you. speaking of weather, the brutal winter storm paralyzing the great lakes region. the lake effect storm is dumping huge amounts of snow running holiday travel and football, some areas could get up to six feet. george is the least is in new york. we talked about football. i guess they're supposed to be

a game not too far from where you are tomorrow night? the conditions. >> they are vastly deteriorating. we were just outside of orchard arc just at high mark stadium where you can expect to show up with shovels. they are definitely showing up for the shovels to dig out the stadium. that game is happening. the bills against the niners. we have been looking at the conditions here. some deteriorating, but you can make sure the crews are working around the clock to make sure the roads are passable and people can get to the game safely. it's interesting with lake effect snow if you've ever experienced that you have areas here like amherst, new york north of where we are there is no snow. not a flake. as you drive to the ski town just south you've got about two feet and more of that is coming. along the new york and p.a. border that's a mess alongside some highways. nevertheless, that is just what

is a taste to come as the system moves through the area. a lot of snow and it's moving fast. it's very cold out here. that isn't the problem, the rapid accumulation is. as i mentioned the cruise here have been so diligent. earlier with the county director of public works who has been kind enough to show us around some of these areas take a listen to what he told me about the manpower out here. >> if you see some plows please give them extra space. they are doing that important work to make sure the streets are clear and safe and putting salt down. we don't want to be crowding those to create dangerous situations. >> obviously great as vice. tomorrow is a different story. we are expecting a lot of traffic to get the high mark stadium but those roads look to be fairly clear. if the bills fans have anything to say they will make sure to get to that game.

>> i think you prove yourself hardy enough to show up. thank you for that. we have breaking news to share, new video that's been released by hamas of israeli- american who is being held hostage in gaza. he is calling on president- elect trump to negotiate for his release. this is the first proof of life video of alexander since taken hostage on october 7th last year. prime minister benjamin netanyahu spoke with alexander's family after the video was released. the video comes as president biden is pushing for a cease- fire deal with hamas following israel's truce with hezbollah. we will have more later for you in this hour. new details about donald trump's mass deportation plan when we are back in 90 seconds.

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today, you can help st. jude save lives it takes a heart for somebody to say, i have this extra that i'm willing to give to st. jude so that they can help save more lives. [music playing] new details on donald trump's planned mass deportations. local law enforcement agencies are preparing to ramp up partnerships with ice under a program that could spark legal challenges. cherubs in states like maryland say they are eager to cooperate with trump. the wall street journal reports trump is considering rewards for cooperation and retribution against those that don't. republican leaders say they want texas to be the model and epicenter for the operation. joining me now is our good friend texas congresswoman jasmine crockett serving on the

house of agriculture and oversight committees. i'm glad to have you. hope you had a great thanksgiving. let's talk about what you're hearing about how this plan appears to be coming together in your home state. do you have a sense of what it's going to look like? >> if it looks anything like operation lodestar then it will look like the ultimate failure. as someone serving in the texas house when our governor pushed forward with operation lodestar , operation lodestar was something that caused texans so much money because the governor decided he was going to become the mastiff order of some sorts and ultimately it led to us having issues as it relates to food getting to our state and so many other things. we know it cost us more than we ended up getting out of it. i don't really expect to see anything more than more failure out of our governor teaming up with trump. >> trumps former acting director of ice and now pick

for borders are was ramping up rhetoric this week. here's a little bit of that. >> let me be clear. there is going to be a mastiff rotation. we are already planning. we will put a plan in place and secure this nation at the highest level ever seen. it's a felony to harbor illegal aliens. don't test us. >> a couple things, where does he -- what does he mean when he says we aren't waiting until january? that is relative to discussion. to whom is he directing this message? >> i have no idea. to those uneducated. for him to say we aren't waiting until january, as you and i both know, we know there is an administration already in place and until january 20th there's nothing the new administration can do. we still have to figure out exactly how much authority a quote unquote borders are

should be given before there is a requirement that the senate actually do some sort of confirmation. with him going around threatening to arrest people and things like that, that's not something we normally see coming out of a border czar or anyone really in this position. that something the department of justice normally carries out. we don't even know if trump is going to go forward with his current nominee for attorney general. we have no idea. i think the fact he's not laying out exactly how this is going to play out tells us everything we need to know. if you recall, the only debate that trump engaged in with vice president kamala harris, he talks about having concepts of a plan. right now what we are hearing is concepts of a plan. they've been talking about immigration and migrants for the longest time and say they are going to get rid of all of them that they've yet to lay out for us exactly how they

will do this. >> that brings me to this, do you have a sense of how many people they are talking about? to your point, i'm always looking at the logistics. it appears to involve manpower to make arrests, detention, housing, procedures in court, eckley legal challenges throughout the whole process and then the actual deportation. does congress have any sense of the cost and where this money would come from? >> we don't have a concept of what the cost would be, but let me tell you you are right to point out the logistics. it's great to be on the campaign trail and say i will kick everybody out and get people hold up signs saying deport them now, but in reality it doesn't look that way. the estimates right now are that in the state of texas alone we have approximately 1.6 million undocumented folks, that is in the state of texas. you start to expand out and try to figure out what are the numbers? you start to figure out what does this look like for our

foster system? you have children that may end up in situations where now they are going to enter the foster system. a foster system that is already not really doing all that it should be doing. we also know that we still have so many judges that have not been confirmed because we have blue slips and have senators that are blocking the confirmation of judges. when we are looking at things like this you don't just go around somebody and kick them out. there's a process. you look at the money that other people are going to make because now you have to have facilities to house them and i have a feeling some of these people that invested a lot of money into trump are very excited to build these facilities to hold and house people. we already know that we have a shortage of officers on the border. they were constantly taking officers from everywhere else and deploying them to the border. now you will need even more officers and we still haven't talked about increasing our

technology to do the things they claim they're doing which is to try to keep the bad folks out, try to keep the drugs out, try to keep the guns out and they've yet to talk about the technology that it would take you to actually get that done. >> tom homan engaged in a back- and-forth with mike johnston, the democratic mayor of denver, threatening to jail johnston after he said his city will resist efforts to use the military to carry out deportations. here's his response to all this. >> we are not going to support applying the hundred first airborne into american cities double 10-year-old kids out of their classrooms in handcuffs. america is not after another conflict. if they are going to send the u.s. army or navy s.e.a.l.s into denver to pursue folks to pull them off the job at hotels or restaurants where they are working to pull kids off the soccer field i think we will see folks around the country who will not resist that. >> you expect us protest in response to mass deportation?

>> i do, but i don't expect mass deportation. i think it sounds good and they look like the tough guys and we know that has been their brand. basically look like the bullies that they are. when you start to get into the nitty-gritty and talk about details that's when they are like we didn't realize this or that or even when you start to talk about the cost. when we started to ramp up what the cost will look like for us to effectuate this but then also look at the cost to our economy i don't really see it happening. as the mayor pointed out he talks about the service workers and things like that and as someone who serves on the agriculture committee i can tell you i've talked to countless farmers that talk about the need for these migrant workers. unless your viewers are planning to send their kids to school so they can go work on the farms then god bless, we can make sure we keep american agriculture going. the reality is that's not who

has been working the farms in recent years. it's been these migrants. when we look at our hospitality it has been migrants. the restaurant workers has been migrants. when we start to look at the cost not only coming directly out of our pocket to effectuate this but also the cost to our economy i just don't think they will do it and ultimately he will blame it on somebody else or we're supposed to forget just like we forgot about the wall that mexico was going to pay the bill. >> that's always a reality check with you and i'm grateful for it. have a good one. on the heels of the black friday frenzy it is a small business saturday. sobering numbers will make you realize why today is so important for so many. ♪♪

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the biggest shopping weekend of the year goes small on small business saturday but consumers are expected to spend about 191 fewer dollars than last year at small businesses according to the chamber of commerce. that is 40% less overall, this is expected to be a big weekend in stores. the national retail federation predicts within 130 million people shopped on black friday and our team was covering the season of shopping. we have maia following small business saturday but we will begin with marquise francis at the mall for us in new jersey just across the river. welcome to you.

i understand the mall is pretty crowded but our shoppers actually shopping? >> as you mentioned i'm at the american dream all here in east rutherford and it's been picking up since it opened at 10 a.m.. the reason is because this mall has everything. look up megamall and i'm sure you would see a picture of american dream. indoor theme park, indoor waterpark, indoor ski slope and stores galore. with experts saying they expect consumers to spend upwards of $1 trillion this holiday season shoppers are out and about shopping for what they want for their family and loved ones. i spoke to a dozen shoppers since i've been here and it's a mixed bag of whether they shop for deals where they are here to experience with their family. >> had you feel about the post thanks giving discounts? >> it's not really a discount. i honestly think when you're in an outlet mall it's a regular -- i don't see a difference

honestly. i think maybe cyber monday. >> it can be a little chaotic to shop in person and online you can see more. you can see what's available. who wants to go outside to shop in person these days? >> we will do some santa photos and they have some good stores i like to go and look firsthand to try things on. that's the main reason. >> it's more about the experience as opposed to getting what you want? >> i like this mall. >> of course, malls across the country including american dream are enticing people to come shop with these gigantic deals. the mall of america, the largest mall in the country, yesterday they saw upwards of 13,000 shoppers cross into the mall in the first hour it was open 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. it beat out last year's record by 10%. as long as there will be deals people will be out shopping.

>> you mentioned last year, what about retailers? what are they saying about last year to this year this weekend? >> i spoke to an american dream official and he mentioned that this mall saw 25% foot traffic increase from last year which is the second biggest of all time. as long as there are shopping deals people will come out. as i mentioned experts are saying upwards of $1 trillion and i'm seeing in the small deals from 20% to 80%. on average adobe analytics says retail discounts are about 30%. there's a lot for everyone. >> thank you for that. i understand you spoke with some small business owners about how they are getting through and staying afloat. what are they telling you? >> i spoke with three toy store owners who told me although they love their jobs they have been feeling the overall consumer spending going down throughout the country.

we know small business saturday actually started in 2010 and there's a lot of entrepreneurs working really hard to keep up enthusiasm for this micro holiday. >> they took over the store a few years ago. >> dinner one night. my husband said why don't we buy the toyshop? we were like really? >> there's a legacy of toy stores. >> they used to be a toy store here for 30 years and that closed during the pandemic. >> how have you been able to remain competitive? >> one thing we do is we try to have stuff in the shop you cannot find in some of the more major retailers. i think people want to support something that is a community and a way to feel like they are part of something. >> they are not wrong. in 2023 u.s. consumers spent around $17 billion on small business saturday. it's not just new york city. susan opened with her late

husband john in 1976. >> it's my labor of love. when i first went into business somebody told me that most small businesses and in a year. i thought i'm going to stick it out for five years. that was 50 years ago. >> from puzzles and stuffed animals to collectibles and crafts, susan says the holidays are her slow season with less folks on the island. >> in the summer we are jammed with people. >> she says there's a legacy of community felt and the customers who practically grew up or saw other kids grow up in the story. >> we have to come here because they think i own the haymarket. >> is a place full of memories. >> these owners told me they've had to rely on other streams of revenue like merchandise or social media to keep their stores afloat and that's why days like small business saturday are a reminder to

really stand behind those local community gems in our own neighborhoods to help support the people around us. >> my town is offering free parking today and that helps. it gets people to the stores. thank you for that. what we know about donald trump's transition plan. can your smartwatch do that? introducing kardiamobile 6l, the fda-cleared ekg that provides six-times more heart data than any smartwatch. and it detects three of the most common arrhythmias in just 30 seconds, including atrial fibrillation, bradycardia and tachycardia. get kardiamobile 6l for just $99 right now, our lowest price of the year, at kardia.com or amazon

donald trump's team of house to have a smooth transition between the president-elect and president biden but trumps journey back to the white house is already off to a rocky start. team trump signed the paperwork to begin the official transition process, but it is refusing to sign to other agreements. one to get logistical support including federal funding and another to allow the fbi to process security clearances for transition officials. joining me now is meghan hays, former special assistant to president biden and former director of message planning. thanks for joining us. i'm curious how you interpret this selective cooperation from the trump team. is this unusual and does it feel at all like a foreshadowing of what we can expect from the administration? >> it feels unusual and like a foreshadowing. it doesn't look like there will be transparency with his presidency, the transition is lacking transparency with donors and security background

checks. it's a position where they will not be ready to govern on day one because they won't have the necessary briefings and procedures to be done without signing these. >> what would team trump want -- why would they want to bypass or delay background checks for transition officials and cabinet choices? isn't it beneficial to an administration to know the team they have, do with any potential issues before they can mushroom into some distracting mess, let alone guarantee that person is properly prepared to handle the job? >> i don't think donald trump cares if his cabinet picks are competent. i think the requirement is to be loyal to him so i'm not necessarily thinking he cares much about the fbi background checks and their diligent skill to run their departments. >> there is concern the team is not signing a separate agreement with the general services administration. what role does that agency play during a transition and what does it risk by excluding them?

>> they provide office space, necessary documents, set up meetings, funding and what the trump team is not getting which is beneficial is the funding and transparency piece so that does have the background check putting people in touch with the right people so they are prepared on day one. it would benefit everyone for them to do this. there's a reason the office is set up to handle this. every president has gone through it when they transition into power. >> the trump team says it will disclose its donors names and it's not going to take donations from foreigners but it isn't legally bound to those promises. how do you see this playing out? >> i would suspect they will follow their own rules. i think it will take money from where they need but the reason it is funded is they don't need to take donations for the transition. they take money for the inauguration and disclose that

afterwards. having to do all private funding lacks transparency and that's not what we set up the peaceful transfer of power to be able to withstand. >> donald trump jr. indicates his father may dramatically shake up the white house press corps in the briefing room and said this this week. he said it's time to take away seats belonging to traditional media and the president-elect may give press credentials to podcasters like joe rogan. i'm curious of your reaction and how it would change the dynamic in the room. >> it wouldn't change because they are free to go today if they wanted to. they can cover it whenever. you pry for a press pass and the team would grant that pass but the correspondence association are the ones who manifest the seats and have since the reagan administration. people stand in the aisles all the time so it's up to the administration to call in them. it is important to note these folks could be in the briefing

room today if they wanted to be. >> there is limited space. there's only so much in that room. by kicking out some to make room for others that would change the dynamic. >> i don't think you're kicking people out. there is limited seats but those are mostly set up based on need and how much money they are spending to cover. there's a lot of logistics that play into this but people can stand in the aisles. it's really about the press secretary will call and people get called from the aisles all the time so i don't think they would be kicking out any traditional media but if these podcasters wanted to cover the white house that they could be doing so. >> it's very illuminating. thank you for telling us how it is. a remarkable development overseas, the big question is will it last?

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it takes a heart for somebody to say, i have this extra that i'm willing to give to st. jude so that they can help save more lives. [music playing] breaking news in the middle east, hamas releasing this new video of israeli-american edan alexander who has been held hostage in gaza since october of last year. in the footage he calls on president-elect trump to negotiate for his release. it comes as the new cease-fire between israel and hezbollah and lebanon appears to be holding on this day four. joining me now is former nato supreme allied commander and msnbc security analyst. it's always good to have you here. what do you make of the timing of this new video released by hamas coming as the biden

administration hoped the israel hezbollah cease-fire spark a similar deal with hamas? >> it simply heartbreaking, inhumane, cool beyond words that hamas who captured by all accounts, tortured, continues to hold these hostages, it tells you everything you need to know about this vicious terrorist organization. i think point 2 is that israelis are going to continue to do all they can to rescue the hostages and the netanyahu administration indicated they are willing to pay $5 million for any of these hostages. i think also for free passage out of gaza to those who have been holding them. i think that's designed to drive a wedge inside the remnants of hamas. third and finally, clearly, it's a message directed to team trump.

i think it is quite noticeable that they don't even mention the biden administration, they talk about trump. that is very typical globally at the moment. people are looking past the biden administration and looking toward trump. >> given the fact there are seven more weeks of this administration every single day if not hour and minute counts when you think about that. this tenuous cease-fire, it appears to largely be holding despite several israeli strikes. you expect it will hold for 60 days? if you don't, indicate the challenges to reaching a permanent cease-fire deal, how do you see them -- what are the biggest challenges? >> first and foremost, i think the cease-fire will probably hold. the reason is because the incentives both for the israelis and hezbollah run toward keeping the cease-fire in place. from the israeli side,

netanyahu is deeply committed to getting 60 to 70,000 israelis back into their homes in northern israel. it's very different than down in gaza. the israelis are not trying to move israelis into gaza or run gaza. up north, what they want is to get their own israeli citizens back so their motivations lean toward a cease-fire. on the hezbollah side, they are battered, they had leaders taken out by the israelis in a variety of different ways including the exploding beeper caper as well as, at the moment, iran is the funding source for hezbollah on their back foot as well. i think both sides up north are looking for a cease-fire. the question, you've got it exactly right, is whether this could lead to a cease-fire in gaza. there i'm less optimistic frankly.

>> hezbollah said it would not agree to a deal until a cease- fire was reached in gaza, but then hamas militia has been severely weakened. its leader is dead, president- elect trump said israel should do what it needs to win the war. now with hamas most important ally potentially out of the fight how does that impact the war in gaza? could hamas agree to a cease- fire if it thinks it's going to get more favorable terms under biden then trump? >> that would be a pretty good theory, but i don't see hamas as being nimble enough at this moment to take advantage of this remaining seven-week. let's recall, it appears his brother maybe now running the organization but it is a shadow of its former self. it's having grave difficulty getting organized and can't communicate. it's under constant attacked. i think the idea they will be

clever enough to cut some kind of nuanced deal with the biden administration is frankly unlikely. where we all ought to be putting pressure at this moment is on the arab states and others providing support to hamas. obviously, iran, a persian state, but until very recently for example qatar hosted hamas officials. they've been kicked out. shockingly to me they may be reconstituting in turkey which is a place where the u.s. could put real pressure on the government in order to put pressure on hamas. i think hamas must feel the walls closing in and they would be smart to cut a deal as quickly as they can. i'm just not sure they are nimble enough or well led enough to do so. >> i always appreciate your keen insight and all your experience. thank you for sharing with us. big decision for president

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today stunning new insight into the second would-be assassin who tried to take president-elect trump's life this year. the account comes from the man himself, ryan routh who reached out to politico to tell his story this week. and joining us now is the author

of that letter and recipient from him, ankush cardori. i'm curious your reaction to getting this letter, and did it change your interpretation when you verified it really was from him? >> my initial reaction was confusion. i didn't really understand why he was sending it to me, but he has been send these letters out to multiple media outlets. he seems to want to get his message out. i was rather confused, and then we took some steps to sort of authenticate it. once we were satisfied it was from him we talked internally whether we should run it or how we should handle it. in terms of my take-aways, when this assassination attempt occurred, there was a big effort on it right to sort of characterize it as a result of democratic rhetoric from harris and biden in particular who had been casting trump as a major threat to the country. and, you know, the letter i think complicates that narrative

a bit. now, this is a man who's been accused of an attempted assassination. we shouldn't just take everything he says at face value, but i didn't get that from the letter altogether and i think his politics may be a bit more idyo syncratic than people have been suggesting in recent months. >> with regard to what you wanted the readers to take away from it, you said look at this with a dose of skepticism. i mean big picture given his actions at minimum. >> that's exactly right. i mean his alleged actions, let's be clear at the moment -- i don't think he's got much of a defense just based on what we've seen so far, but, yeah exactly right. it's a curious thing. and you don't want to just take it at face value, but some of the particulars were notable. he name checked the jcpoa, the iran deal that's been a subject of controversy over the years. so this is someone who's engaged with political news in an unhealthy way, clearly, let's

just stipulate that. but he seems to be more interested in foreign affairs than i think people have understood. he appears to have voted for trump in 2016 and appears to be maybe just a disaffected trump voter. he wanted a ramaswamy-niki haley ticket earlier this year. he's not on its face a dye in the wool democrat but he's clearly been politicized in recently years very intensely. >> that's a good assessment. i have to read about the other piece you wrote about president biden and the pros and cons of potentially pardoning or commuting the two potential sentences of his son hunter. despite him saying he wouldn't do either, you make a case for the president do it before he leaves office and expect backlash if he does. can you go quickly for our viewers? >> i think there are two key points here. one is the two criminal cases brought against hunter biden concerning his rchase of a