process those things -- and i don't think they will have any trouble passing that -- and get to tax whenever you can. it feels process, you can imagine people being angst on the hill. >> the angst is there, brendan. you and i know that. we've talked about this all week with the congressional reporters we've had on, there is a lot of concern, is he going to agree to something, and renege on it. someone going to whisper in his ear and travel down a policy path and have to completely reverse course. the role of the president in this is so central and it's also the thing that could be a catalyst for chaos or success. we're going to see ultimately which way it ends up going. political analyst brendan buck, you'll be watching it all with us. thank you. and that was "way too early" for this wednesday morning. "morning joe" starts right now. we're going to be changing

the name of the gulf of mexico to the gulf of america. >> yeah. let's do that. why the hell not? i guess gulf of america does have a ring to it, as in, there was another horrific oil spill in the gulf of america. >> so now if i understand this correctly the gulf of mexico will become the gulf of america. new mexico will be dry america. and cinco de mayo will be the fifth of mayo. >> stayed up almost all night to come up with the gulf of america. from now on tortillas known as little round blankets. >> the late night shows reacting to donald trump's news conference yesterday where he also suggested using military force to take control of both the panama canal and greenland. we're going to play for you his

comments on that, and we will have a fact-check on his claims that he is inheriting a bad economy. i think, perhaps, that might not be true. we'll check into it. also ahead, we'll go through the major change coming to facebook and instagram. when it comes to fact-checking, as mark zuckerberg says it will now be up to users to combat misinformation on both platforms. joe, this is, i think, one of the big stories of the day that we're going to be getting to. >> it really is. it is. a lot going on in washington, obviously. jimmy carter, the former president, is going to be celebrated and remembered all this week lying in state in the united states capitol rotunda. i'm sure everybody around the table will tell you certainly broken out when you hear leaders

of both parties talking about president carter, his character, the man he was and the life he lived. also, gene robinson proving once again that the debate between whether washington is a northern city or a southern city -- >> that's over. >> the second there's an inch of snow in washington. >> exactly, yeah. >> once again, that adage has proven true. >> yeah, it has proven true. it's a mess out there still. it hasn't been snowing for a couple of days, actually, you know. >> the fact that they haven't plowed a single street -- >> the lack of plowing sends me a message. i mean, yesterday was just ridiculous. >> yeah. >> it stopped snowing. >> yeah. >> it was basically impossible to get from my house to here. i came in. >> you came in early for me, and i appreciate that. >> it was touch and go. the entire downtown washington

was unplowed and blocked off. >> here is the attitude -- and mark leibovich, it goes to the greats in washington history, marion barry, on vacation when there was a massive snowstorm and his quote, which i believe is etched above the rotunda, when asked what he was going to do about snow removal, he said, god brung it, god can take it away. >> can't argue with that. that might be his second most famous quote. >> yeah. >> here's an opposing view. i live here, too. i don't think it's been that bad, snow removal wise. >> have you been out? >> i have been. granted, there's been no -- it hasn't -- look we got like a foot of snow or something. it hasn't been that -- this is just in my experience, in my lived experience, in my lived experience. i want my voice to be heard.

in my lived experience. >> always a glass half full kind of guy. >> speaking of glass laugh full, willie geist, new york, they're looking at rex ryan and thinking, this guy could make the difference. >> wow. are they going to do this again? >> now, now. >> wait a second. by the way, and ford bringing back the etsell. >> there's the post "rex appeal." "daily news" bringing back rex ryan. the former new york coach has been openly campaigning for the job. he wants back in, perhaps to pair up with aaron rodgers if he returns. we've seen this movie before in new york. >> yeah. >> and now it looks like the jets, john, are entertaining the idea of making rex ryan their coach again. >> you used the right word, entertaining. that would be what rex ryan would provide. file like the nation needs this right now, the return of rex ryan. he had a couple years of success

with the jets and then flamed out spectacularly over several years, and he has been in the media ever since and remarkably, openly lobbying for this job saying i'm the guy for it. i'm not sure jets fans would agree, necessarily. they have a lot of decisions to make. look, clearly rex ryan the one to make them. >> yeah. >> the sports world, though, and mark leibovich, and jonathan lemire will tell you, the sports world stopped with the news that bobby is going to be a chicago white sox. we are all white sox fans now. >> yeah, i would say so. >> watch him hit like 40 bombs for the white sox. >> of course he will. >> this is the only reason you wanted me and jonathan to be on in the first hour. this is when you get rid of the funny inside jokes. what's more important than us being amused.

>> we kept going yesterday all the way to the fourth hour with andrew ross sorkin with his fake, phony churchhill quotes. >> i'm going to put an end to that right now. we've got a lot to get to. you see who is in washington. along with joe, willie, jonathan and me, we have a full table there, and a lot to get to this morning, including a state of emergency in southern california this morning as high winds around los angeles fuel a rapidly spreading wildfire that is destroying homes and forcing mass evacuations right now. nbc news correspondent liz kreutz reports. >> reporter: panic in the pacific palisades, as a wind-driven wildfire blazes through one of southern california's most iconic neighborhoods. >> people are panicking and it's a parking lot. there's about an hour wait at the bottom. >> i rushed over here to pack my belongings, and i got the evacuation orders.

>> reporter: multiple homes burning with residents told to get out. some people getting trapped. >> there's fire on both sides of the roads. >> reporter: many abandoning their cars in the gridlocked traffic. fire crews using a bulldozer to push cars out of the way to clear a path. we're in bumper-to-bumper traffic right now as hundreds try to get out. you can see flames here on both sides of the road with very little visibility. >> evacuation orders are in place for approximately 30,000 residents. households threatened, approximately 10,367. >> reporter: our nbc los angeles station inside this hard-hit neighborhood. >> this is a large clock here, a large what looks like an antique, very beautiful, family clock on the ground. there are photo albums that the firefighters pulled from the home just minutes before the flames overtook it because they said they felt they at least wanted to save something. >> reporter: smoke from the growing fire seen from miles around l.a. where another brush

fire ignited in west hollywood. this is something you hardly ever see. we are in the heart of l.a. on sunset boulevard where there was a brush fire that shut down the road here. all these firefighters trying to get ahead of the wind, putting out the flames that were up in these hills. firefighters using air drops to put out the flames. 19 million people under red flag warnings with wind gusts throughout the state expected to reach 100 miles per hour in some areas, sending trees on to cars and power lines. >> the only thing i heard above that wind was the power lines popping. >> reporter: the intense smoke creating dangerous air quality across southern california with the fire fight continuing where high winds are only expected to further fan the flames. >> nbc's liz kreutz reporting. let's go over to meteorologist angie angie lasman. >> unfortunately the winds are going to worsen as the morning goes on for folks in southern california. no surprise we still have the 19

million people under the red flag warnings. when we look at the three plain fires we're watching, there's so much smoke in this area, so many particulates in the atmosphere, it's picking up on radar. on top of that the way they're going to spread today is going to be immense. we have 45 to 95 mile per hour winds happening in the area of palisades. we're likely going to see the destructive wind gusts up to 100 miles per hour through the day across much of this region. relative humidity values dropping to single digits. all that means explosive fire growth across this region. the extreme risk stretching from glendale towards the coast including malibu. notice the critical risk extends down basically to the border. that extreme fire behavior is going to be likely through the day today. the wind alerts are up for the southwest. we have a high pressure and low pressure this area is sandwiched

between. that means the winds are going to stay destructive through the next couple days. we'll see likely some weakening of those by the time we get to the end of the week and potentially into the weekend. for now we'll continue to see that really -- those dangerous conditions lasting for folks in that region. >> officials describing some of the winds as tornado like whipping through and carrying these flames jumping highways. some people sheltering on the beach. thanks so much. we should point out john, president biden is out there in southern california. what does his schedule look like? >> he's had some unrelated events in california the last couple days. he had to cancel one yesterday. they couldn't make that trip because of the dangerous winds and fire. he is still in l.a. he's slated to return to washington later today. he has put out a statement today that our government is monitoring this, offering assistance as they can. vice president harris, similar statement. she and the second gentleman live in los angeles. they have a home not far from where these fires are raging.

some of the footage we saw last night, we saw here on social media, truly terrible. already real concerns. let's remember, in just two weeks time, it will be donald trump as president of the united states. he in the past has threatened to withhold federal assistance for wildfire recovery because of the feud he's had there with california governor gavin newsom. but that is something for down the road. right now just, of course, prayers for those there, including these first responders. the county of los angeles had to have an all hands, all members of the fire department, on or off duty, calling them back to work. >> still very much developing, especially with those wind gusts. who knows where this could go. we'll stay on this throughout the show. in an hour long news conference yesterday, president-elect donald trump suggested that he would consider military force to gain control of the panama canal and greenland, and economic force to acquire canada. nbc news senior white house

correspondent gabe gutierrez has more from yesterday's news conference. >> reporter: in a marathon news conference at mar-a-lago president-elect trump not ruling out using economic or military coercion to retake the panama canal and acquire greenland. >> you're talking about panama and greenland. no, i can't assure you on either of those two, but i can say this, we need them for economic security. the panama canal was built for our military. >> reporter: trump saying the u.s. decision to return control of the canal to panama in the '90s gave too much influence to china. >> china has basically taken it over. >> reporter: arguing the u.s. needs greenland for national security. >> you have russian ships all over the place. we're not letting that happen. the people are going to probably vote for independence or to come into the united states. >> reporter: protein vocative -- the provocative comments come. >> here as tourists, seeing it.

>> reporter: but his father laying out an aggressive foreign policy expanding u.s. influence, even wanting to change the name of the gulf of mexico. >> the gulf of america. what a beautiful name. and it's appropriate. it's appropriate. and mexico has to stop allowing millions of people to pour into our country. >> reporter: and after mocking canada as the 51st state, trump is floating the idea of using economic, not military force, to an next the u.s. ally. >> because canada and the united states, that would really be something. you get rid of that artificially drawn line and you take a look at what that looks like, and it would also be much better for national security. >> reporter: outgoing canadian prime minister monterey justin responding. trump is warning hamas to release its hostages soon. >> if they're not back by the time i get into office all hell will break out in the middle

east, and it will not be good for hamas. >> gabe gutierrez reporting there. jonathan lemire, as we watched this yesterday, it was a return to, oh, yeah, this is what this is like. donald trump almost in rally mode, campaign rally, just listing off grievances and whining about all the injustices. saying america, what a horrible place because we run our elections like this. musing about potential of hezbollah having been there on january 6th. i guess the question for viewers, for the news media and others is, what do you do with this when most of it is trolling? most of it is not policy that he's actually going to pursue. there it was for an hour again yesterday. >> a stream of consciousness, just rambling rant for an hour or so. yes, indea preview of what's come.

i think there are a few things we should take away. this is going to be the challenge for the next four years. if we -- at face value some of this stuff is troubling and dangerous, suggesting that he would use military force to reclaim the panama canal, which as we have been talking about for a week or more, president carter signed a treaty to give back to panama, or greenland, meanwhile greenland, part of denmark, a nato ally. that would be an extraordinary step were he to actually take any sort of moves there. we have seen with canada, says it won't be an invasion, but he wants economic pressure to push canada to become our 51st state. he mused wayne gretzky should follow justin trudeau there. the great one has decided to take a pass on that. but there were more things that i think we have to look at more seriously as well. this idea of -- he acknowledged facebook and meta's fact-checking changes, that's because of the pressure he has put on them and a signal to the

social media and tech industry, you need to get on board or we will perhaps lean on you heavily. he talked -- floated january 6th conspiracy theories. we could set those aside. joe, this is something where donald trump is, again, reminding us and the world that this is going to be -- there's not going to be consistency here. >> right. >> there's not going to be a reliable ally. we can sort of dismiss some of this as he's just talking or blustering, he is talking about tariffs, he's talking about economic pressure and withholding aid. i think global capitals are trying to sort out how to handle this, and some of them very clear, deeply alarmed. >> well, and there is also -- there is blowback from that trolling actually for trump allies. you look at canada, for instance, and talking about the 51st state or these other things. it certainly does not help the conservatives in canada right now who want to take control.

the same thing is happening in britain where elon musk continues to interfere in british politics. all that is doing is helping a severely weakened labor government by, again -- there's always blowback to this and, you know, sam, so much of it is -- if we are to judge over the last four years -- signature trolling, and as david sanger said when pressed on greenland, when pressed on these other things, david sanger with "the new york times" wrote this morning that when asked those questions, he responded with, quote, signature vagueness. >> right. >> so guess what happens? we talk about it. everybody talks about it. >> right. >> everybody writes about it. everybody is asking, is he or isn't he? the signature vagueness is there. the trolling is there. and he's in the middle of the conversation. >> exactly. and then it becomes incumbent to

separate the signal from the noise. what actually matters here? does renaming the gulf of mexico to the gulf of america, is that going to happen? no. imagine all the maps we have to rewrite. we can put that aside. there are some things that do matter. threatening or not ruling out military force to acquire the panama canal or greenland. i think materially matters, if only because it sends a signal to russia, hey, go ahead. we do territorial sovereignty doesn't matter. you can do what you want in ukraine. sends a signal to china, taiwan, right. that's the signal and that's the noise. in terms of the vagueness, you know, and we've done this for, god, eight years now, geez, figuring out if this is just him kind of riffing or if this is some sort of negotiating play, and in some cases you can see the case where he's trying to, for instance, try to extract more concessions from canada when it comes to trade or from denmark and greenland or from panama, right. but ultimately there is a cost

to this, which is it's chaos, it deteriorates and hurts our allies and invites other foreign countries, world powers, to basically meddle in other sovereign nations the way we are meddling in panama, greenland, canada. >> i had somebody, in talking about -- very close to donald trump, talking about when you listen to him, always understand he talks about deporting 13 million illegal immigrants. always understand, that's the opening hand. >> yeah. >> that's the start of the negotiations. everything. if he's talking about the panama canal where he might take it over by force, they say -- i'm not saying this -- they say, that's the opening hand. he doesn't like the fees or he doesn't like how it's being handled. maybe he wants china's shipping to be -- you know, have a higher surcharge on it. always look at these things as

the opening volley in negotiations. >> but that's always been what trump has done. >> right. >> it's just different when you're president of the united states versus the head of a company. i mean, you can talk about acquiring canada if you're not a head of state. an acquisition and merger doesn't work like that as a country. but i do think this is, once again, the place that we are in with the literal of trump and the negotiating of trump. we talked about this on "way too early." from a diplomatic perspective, i think sam makes an excellent point. from a policy negotiating perspective it's also the same. there are people on capitol hill says what happens if we agree to something and somebody whispers to president trump. it's not a way for success ledge laytively or policy wise, but this is going to be the central thesis of the second trump administration. i do think the best advice -- and i never find political books to be instructive when written by the candidates -- but the best advice i got is read "the

art of the deal" and we all have to go back and re-read. >> let's be clear there. that's great advice. actually read the first three pages. >> yep. >> and he explains, he goes to the office, picks up the phone. he starts talking. he has to plans. he sees what happens. >> yeah. that's -- >> that's -- that's where -- that's where we are, you know. >> told you. i told you this would happen, everybody. this is who he is. this is what we're in store for. america, you wanted this. >> sam, he told you. >> i should have listened. should have never not listened to eugene. >> the gulf of mexico was the gulf of mexico before there was a united states of america. >> doesn't matter. rename it. >> details. >> just like -- >> it is a freedom --

>> absolutely. >> mika, you know, this is one of those moments where there's, you know, you've always got to separate the signal from the ground noise, as a great admiral once told me. this is one of those moments where we may look back and actually, you know, see gulf of america, greenland, all this other stuff, and we may realize that actually the most important part of yesterday's press conference that may have the biggest impact on american politics may be what he said about meta. >> right. >> and mark zuckerberg's total and absolute collapse on all fronts in that horrific video that he put out yesterday. that actually is something that may more dramatically change the landscape of american politics, at least over the next two to four years, until somebody else

gets in control and mark zuckerberg decides, yes, yes, yes, sir, overlord, i will now do what you want me to do. this is going to have sweeping impact. >> absolutely. that's the story of the day, amidst all the noise. we're going to talk more about this topic in our 7:00 hour, but we're going to get to meta next. still ahead on "morning joe," we'll get to the fallout from meta's ceo mark zuckerberg's decision to end fact-checking on facebook and instagram, ahead of donald trump's return to the oval office. plus new york city mayor eric adams could face more criminal charges ahead of his upcoming trial. what prosecutors are saying about that. also ahead, billionaire elon musk's war on america's allies. ed joins us with his latest piece for the "financial times." "morning joe" is back in 90 seconds. back in 90 seconds.

♪ control is everything to me.♪ and now i'm back in the picture. feel significant symptom relief at 4 weeks with skyrizi, including less abdominal pain and fewer bowel movements. skyrizi helped visibly improve damage of the intestinal lining. and with skyrizi, many were in remission at 12 weeks, at 1 year, and even at 2 years. don't use if allergic. serious allergic reactions, increased infections, or lower ability to fight them may occur. before treatment, get checked for infections and tb. tell your doctor about any flu-like symptoms or vaccines. liver problems leading to hospitalization may occur when treated for crohn's. now's the time to take control of your crohn's. ♪ control is everything to me. ♪ ask your doctor about skyrizi, the #1 prescribed biologic in crohn's disease.

live picture reagan national, 6:25 in the morning. as we just mentioned meta ceo mark zuckerberg has announced major changes to the content moderation practices. senior washington correspondent hallie jackson has details. >> reporter: new fallout after meta's mega move to eliminate traditional fact-checking on the world's biggest social media

platform. >> we've reached a point where it's just too many mistakes and too much censorship. the fact-checkers have been too biased and destroyed more trust than they've created. >> reporter: it's a significant shift from the fact-checking put in place after donald trump's first win. instead, meta will now rely on community notes. in other words, user input, similar to what elon musk's x platform does as part of a broader move to loosen up how meta moderates content. the company will lift restrictions on hot button topics like gender identity and immigration, allow more politics into people's feeds and move its trust and safety team from liberal california to ruby red texas, all just days before president-elect trump retakes the white house. >> the recent elections feel like a tipping point towards prioritizing speech. >> reporter: it's a political evolution for meta. four years after facebook suspended mr. trump's account in the wake of january 6th and just months after the president-elect accused zuckerberg of plotting against him in 2020, calling for

a life in prison if zuckerberg did it again, but after mr. trump's win, zuckerberg traveled to mar-a-lago, his company donated a million dollars, and trump close ally is joining meta's board. >> meta, facebook, i think they've come a long way. >> do you think he's directly responding to the threats you've made to him in the past? >> probably. >> fact-checking is not censorship. >> what do you see as the trump factor here? >> this is, obviously, a political decision. >> reporter: the trump administration will set key policy on critical tech topics like antitrust and ai and as meta has pushed into the world of artificial intelligence, nbc news has found user generated ai chat bots that seemingly violated meta's policies against creating characters based on religious or real-life figures. a review found some two dozen chat bots ranging from hitler and jesus christ to taylor swift

and captain jack sparrow. >> nbc's hallie jackson reporting there. joining us from the stern school of business our friend scott, co-host of the raging moderates podcast. so glad you're here to walk us through this morning. remember it was four years ago about right now that mark zuckerberg and facebook, meta, pulled donald trump's accounts down after the attack on the capitol on january 6th. now you fast forward four years, donald trump threatening mark zuckerberg during the campaign, and it does look just in the last few days, last couple weeks, like full capitulation, giving donald trump exactly what he wants. what do you see in this move? >> first off, good to be with you. should stop using the sterm stakeholders and go back to the truth and talk about shareholders. four years ago the term was called moderation. now it's being called censorship.

with this decision the ceo of meta, mark zuckerberg gets kind of a two-fer. he gets to placate the president who threatened to put him in jail the rest of his life, and he gets to save maybe upwards of $5 billion, which is how much they spend on their safety and security department. a price earnings ratio of 30, that's potentially $150 billion increase in market capitalization. mark zuckerberg owns 15% of the company, so you have what is effectively a get out of jail card potentially from someone who appears to be an oligarch threatening to put people in jail, and add 15 to $20 billion to his net worth. the greatest trade of 2024 -- it wasn't bitcoin, it wasn't nvidia -- it was elon musk investing a quarter of a billion dollars into the trump campaign and when trump won, since the election, elon musk's worth has gone up $140 billion, so that's effectively, i believe about a

56,000% return on investment. we've gone full kleptocracy. we can never , in my opinion, wave our finger at russia again, when the elected president is taking public trust and dolling out capital and market share and contracts and threatening to use regulatory action against the competitors who don't give money to his inaugural committee or don't kind of bend the knee, we are effectively in a kleptocracy. this is -- russia is the role model. we are becoming more like russia every day. that's where we are. >> scott, it's sam stein here. i looked at all these adjustments that zuckerberg was announcing. some of them i think were significant. some of them i think were a bit overblown. they already have offices in texas. he made a stint about moving the office to texas.

i saw lina khan on cnbc who suggested, you know, there is an ftc suit that is going to be considered in the next couple months that looks at whether facebook -- sorry meta -- is a monopoly on the social media network, and she said this is plainl mark zuckerberg trying to get a sweetheart deal from the ftc. do you see it that way? >> i think that's part of it. the move to texas not only pleases the conservative side of the aisle, to try to come across as more conservative, it's the quiet firing. if you tell -- rather than a series of bad press releases or uncomfortable all hands meetings, if you just decide you're moving your safety and security team from california to texas, you're naturally going to lose 30 to 50% of the employees, so, you know, this is -- this is, again, nothing about placating the republican party and saving money and adding shareholder value. what is so shocking -- i mean just from a personal standpoint,

what's the point of having all this money if you aren't at some point going to show some fidelity as a 40 or 50 something year old man that has the wealth of the gdp of a latin america nation, to actually standing up and showing some fidelity to american values? bezos has the yacht. tim cook, jensen, worth more than intel or boeing. when do the men show up here? when do the americans show up here? so this is not only incredibly shocking, but disappointing from trump, but where's the leadership? where are the men that have such blessings and such prosperity from the rule of law and capitalism and competition? we don't need more mergers and acquisitions. we need more breakups.

one company owns two-thirds of all social media globally, meta. one company has 93% of all share of all search. google. and if you don't think every day we don't pay higher prices -- one company has 50% of all e-commerce, amazon. the percentage -- the percentage of revenues that have gone to amazon from third-party retailers have gone up 24 to 50%. look at the rents that parents are paying on facebook when 24% of teen girls are now addicted to facebook. 6% of our teenagers are clinically addicted to drugs and alcohol. 24% are addicted to instagram. the number of teen girls self-harming has doubled. so if you want higher rents as a consumer, as a retailer and as a parent, that's where we're headed. >> you know, scott, there's so much -- so much to discuss here, and you've talked, though, for

some time about how this entire system is rigged and it is rigged against working americans and rigged for billionaires. people like yourself who made a lot of money in the markets, been very successful, but the tax system is -- and, again, you've been saying this for years now. talk about how this is accelerating. you talk about the elon musk example. talk about how this is accelerating and how this -- i say this as a small government conservative -- this is a threat to american capitalism. you know, we can look at a lot of different threats facing this country, but moving towards this sort of oligarchy with all of these monopolies -- i've always told the story, during covid,

somebody called me up and said, hey, you need to invest in the stock market. i go, i don't really do that. i don't trust the stock market. he goes, just invest in the monopolies. i go the monopolies? yeah. invest in meta, in amazon, in microsoft, and he named five or six. and they are. like you just said, they're monopolies. lina khan tried to break it up, and you seriously would have thought that karl marx was marching down wall street. you combine that combination that you're talking about with the fact that billionaires are getting richer and richer by the second while screaming socialism, and what -- what does that say about where american capitalism is going over the next five, ten years? >> i think it comes down to a basic question, what is america?

my kind of economic role model is peter drucker. an economy in america exists to create a robust middle class. the most ascending countries have been china and india. one litmus test, how many people are you bringing into the middle class. the greatest innovation in history is the american middle class. beat back fascism in the middle of world war ii. it has financed and built the greatest innovations, whether it's radar, whether it's the internet, vaccines. the middle class in america is the greatest innovation in history. people like to fall back into this right wing notion it's naturally self-healing. it's not. it's an accident in history. typically you have a small number of people who weaponize government. they're very talented and aggregate power. they aggregate more and more spoils. the good news it's self-correcting. the bad news is the means of self-correction are typically war, famine or revolution. you want to talk about tax policy the myth in tax policy is

that the rich don't pay their taxes. that's just not true. the fulcrum is the following. there are super earners and super owners. the folks around your table are considered super earners. it's all income reported on a w-2. if you live in new jersey or new york, you're paying 48% tax rates. i make my living starting and selling businesses. my last business sold for $160 million, i'm very transparent about money, this zeitgeist people should not talk about money is nothing but an attempt to keep poor people down. rich people talk about money all the time. the first $10 million from my $160 million sale was tax-free. my effective tax rate has been 17%. the average tax rate on the wealthiest 25 americans is 6%. corporate tax rates are at their lowest point since 1939. at the same time, taxes have

gone up for the super owners. the bottom 50% don't pay much federal income tax. this misdirect talking about tax rates misses the point. it's the tax code which has gone from 400 pages to 4,000 and that 3600 pages, quite frankly, is there to screw the middle class and continue to transfer more money to the super wealthy. the fastest growing demographic group in america is not seniors, it's not latins, it's billionaires. we have 500 billionaires ten years ago. we now have 2500. so if you want to cram more and more wealth into a smaller group of people, we're on our way. the weird thing about america is that we support it because our super powers are optimism. the achilles heel is that 99%, the bottom 99%, who are getting screwed, don't mind these policies because they believe at some point they're going to be in that 1%. where are we? we're in a country that's had

unprecedented prosperity, but similar to the way william gibson described the future, it has not been evenly distributed. when 40% of u.s. households are struggling with some sort of medical or dental debtings when a quarter or 20% of households with kids are food insecure and yet we have one man, jensen huang -- i like jensen -- who is now worth more than boeing, i mean something is wrong here. let me go to the psychology of happiness. i think about happiness because i struggle with it, joe. once you get above a certain level of wealth you get no incremental happiness. why on earth would you not go back to a tax policy of the '60s, '70s, and '80s, say above, pick a number, $10 million, pay more than 10%, because the difference between 30,000 a year for a household and 50,000 is enormous to the well-being of that household. low-income kids in low-income

households have higher resting blood pressure. the difference between making $10 million a year and $15 million offers you no happiness. these individuals have weaponized government, and we risk revolution. ceos being murdered in the street, whether it's a metoo movement that had righteous components or black lives matter, what are these movements? they are targeting the wealthy. we are in the midst of a series of small revolutions to correct increment inequality. the reason we put a rapist in office because for the first time in our nation's history, a 30-year-old man or woman isn't doing as well as his or her parents were at 30. why? because the majority of households are having the oxygen sucked out of the room to a small number of individuals and a small number of companies can be worth more than nation states. income inequality is out of control. our tax policy has gone full

oligarch. >> scott, it's ali. as you're thinking about happiness. i think about the forums in which americans are having conversations about society in the political discourse. one of the first things that i thought about was the ways that twitter used to be a place for that, to have a healthier discussion about politics. it's, of course, become a silo with the changes that musk has made. the same, i think, will be true with meta, to the extent it's not already. what's the impact that this has on the political discourse writ large and the way people from different sides of the aisle engage with each other? it's not just a physical divide in washington. it's now online. you only see what you want to see, and how do these changes reinforce that? >> my colleague at ny says tou need trust in institutions, you need shared stories that we buy into, that we were the good guys in world war ii, that americans

are a generous, righteous people, and that you have small social networks that develop social capital because we trust each other at our church. we trust our neighbors. effectively, we've now gone to these sealed bubbles where -- i mean -- i refer to twitter now as a nazi porn bar. do you know anybody in our circle that trusts anything they read on facebook? two-thirds of americans, somewhere between half and two-thirds depending on the age, get their news from social media. unfortunately the organizations that actually do the hard and expensive work of fact-checking -- if i do an article and it's published on your website or the cnn or "the wall street journal," people call me and ask me for references, such that people have some trust in what they learn. we are all entering into the sealed bubbles that separate us, that polarize us from one another. that not only has impact on our political discourse, it has impacts on things like household

formation and mating. young people are no longer dating because they don't like each other's political views. do any of you remember the political views of the people you dated in your 20s? i don't. you have these sealed bubbles. it's not accidental that it's happening. this sounds paranoid, but it doesn't mean i'm wrong. if i controlled the largest media platform in history for 18 to 25-year-old, that is tiktok, and i -- i'm china and i have a vested interest in diminishing the global strategic power of the u.s., and i can't beat them kinetically, i can't beat them militarily, i can't beat them economically, why wouldn't i put my scale on the thumb of content that makes them hate each other. 40% of americans aren't speaking to their neighbors. a third of americans think the election was stolen. two-thirds of republicans. one in four americans believe 9/11 was an inside job. we can be anyone globally, for

our problems economically. we can add a quarter of a trillion dollars to the market cap of a company 15 minutes post an earnings call. here's the thing, we don't like each other. we've all been shoved into these algorithm driven rage bubbles such that we've stopped getting along and we no longer have a shared truth. in some these algorithms that control our news, that now no longer have the cost or the expense of fact controller, means of production or studios, are going to run away with it and the few media institutions that actually had some fidelity to the truth and shared stories are, quite frankly, becoming a shadow of themselves. >> yeah. you know, i was reading former president jimmy carter's speeches last night, and there's one in particular that warns of a moment just like this. professor of marketing at the nyu stern school of business, scott galloway, thank you very much. his book is entitled "the algebra of wealth a simple

formula for financial security." great conversation. i want to make a comment about a word that was used in this interview. donald trump was tried civilly and was found libel of sexual abuse, not rape. but the judge in the case likened his actions to rape, but the liability was officially called sexual abuse. coming up, donald trump says he will be inheriting a bad economy when he takes office later this month. steve rattner is standing by at the southwest wall with his charts to debunk that claim. "morning joe" will be right back. "morning joe" will be right back copd isn't pretty. from the struggle to breathe... to getting stopped in your tracks. bye, grandma. ♪♪ but with trelegy, i can finally move forward. with 3 medicines in 1 inhaler, trelegy keeps my airways open for a full 24 hours and prevents future flare-ups.

once-daily trelegy also improves lung function, so i can breathe more freely all day and night. trelegy won't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. do not take trelegy more than prescribed. trelegy may increase your risk of thrush, pneumonia, and osteoporosis. call your doctor if worsened breathing, chest pain, mouth or tongue swelling, problems urinating, vision changes or eye pain occur. ♪what a wonderful world♪ ask your doctor about once-daily trelegy for copd because breathing should be beautiful, all day and night. prime's exclusive wild card playoff game is coming part of wild card weekend. the steelers. the ravens. they're a prime super bowl contender. what a night! prime's exclusive wild card playoff game. steelers. ravens. part of wild card weekend. only on prime.

dexcom g7 sends your glucose numbers to your phone and watch, so you can always see where you're heading without fingersticks. dexcom g7 is the most accurate cgm, so you can manage your diabetes with confidence. ♪♪

dave's been very excited about saving big with the comcast business 5-year price lock guarantee. so you can manage your diabetes with confidence. five years? -five years. and he's not alone. -high five. it's five years of reliable gig speed internet. five years of advanced securit. five years of a great rate that won't change. it's back. but only for a limited time. high five. five years? -nope. comcast business 5-year price lock guarantee. powering five years of savings. powering possibilities. comcast business.

time now for a look at other stories making headlines this morning. pakistan carried out air strikes inside afghanistan killing dozens of people late last month. it comes amid rising tensions between the two nations. pakistan claims the afghan taliban is harboring fighters who cross the border to carry out the attacks. we'll follow that. democrats will maintain control of virginia's state legislature. the party held on to two key legislative seats in the first special election since president-elect trump's victory in november. it comes as a big relief to democrats who worried about a republican resurgence in the

counties outside washington, d.c. folk singer peter yarrow has died. the social activist was known for his role in the band peter, paul, and mary. the group had several top ten hits in the '60s including a cover of bob dillon's born in the wind which they performed at the march on washington. peter was 86 years old. all right. still ahead, ed luce of the "financial times" will join us with his new piece "musk's war on america's allies." he'll break down why the tech's ceo on russia and china speaks volumes plus "usa today's" susan paige joins us with her sit down with president biden in which he says he could have won re-election. what he's now saying about his legacy and regrets. also ahead, we'll go live to

california where nbc's jacob soboroff is standing by with the latest updates on the fast-moving infernos that are destroying homes and causing thousands to flee. "morning joe" will be right back. thousands to flee. "morning joe" will be right back

there are some feelings you can get with any sportsbook. ohhh! the highs! no, no, no. the no, no, noooos - oooooooo! the oh, oh, ohhhhs! now whatcha wanna do with this? but the feeling that, no matter what, you're taken care of. ohhh, i just earned a hotel suite! hee! you only get that here. at the sportsbook born in vegas, where they know how to treat you right. who you talking to jamie foxx?

bonus bets. exclusive offers. real world rewards. betmgm. download and bet today. your gut is like a garden growing both good bacteria and bad. that balance is key to a healthy gut environment. benefiber's plant-based prebiotic fiber gently nourishes the good bacteria, working with your body to help your gut,

and you, flourish. effortlessly. every day. grow what feels good.

we are inheriting a difficult situation from the outgoing administration and they are trying everything they can to make it more difficult. inflation is continuing to rage

and interest rates are far too high. i've been disappointed to see the biden administration's attempt to block the reforms of the american people and that they voted for. >> president-elect donald trump yesterday continuing to suggest he's inheriting a poor economy when he takes office in two weeks. steve rattner has been looking into this. he says nothing could be further from the truth, and he joins us with charts. steve, let's break it down. we'll start with job growth. how is it? >> yeah. mika, the economy is incredibly strong, as you guys talked about a little bit yesterday, and, in fact, trump is inheriting the opposite of what he says he is inheriting. you can see that we've been creating jobs consistently across both the prior trump administration as well as obama, of course with the exception of covid. if you exclude covid from the calculations under biden we've been creating jobs at a rate of

241,000 jobs per month. under trump it was 180,000. not only are we creating a lot of jobs, we're creating jobs at a faster rate. manufacturing, we know manufacturing has been a tough spot for the united states. we had been losing manufacturing jobs for many, many years. it was exacerbated by the financial crisis. under trump, also under biden, we have created a lot of manufacturing jobs. 693,000 under biden. 425,000 under trump. manufacturing jobs are actually back to the highest level they've been at since the financial crisis. it's a tough job, but biden has gotten a lot done on the manufacturing side and left trump with a pretty decent tailwind there. >> steve, as you move to your second chart, we heard president-elect trump mention inflation there. goods are still too expensive for many americans, but it is important to look at that number

in relationship to how wages have risen as well. what does that look like? >> two points on that, willie. first of all, he said inflation was raging. we have to recognize inflation did rage. we had a tough spot during covid for a whole series of reasons. what maybe americans don't fully appreciate how far down it's come. it's come all the way back down to 2.5 to 3%, depending upon what measure you use. just above the federal reserve's target of 2%. not that far from under trump. food prices, grocery prices, obviously, one of the most important items to everyday americans, which again did soar in fairness, are running at a 1.6%, 1.7% inflation rate. so very, very low inflation. inflation is not raging. as inflation has come down, that's, obviously, been good for workers because their pay has been going up, but inflation had been taking a lot of that away from them. it's now the opposite, in fact.

real wages, wages adjusted for inflation since covid ended under biden have been growing 1.5% a year. that's a pretty good tailwind. it's an even better tailwind than trump created where he had 1.3% annual growth in wages. right now the american worker is seeing their paychecks going up by a reasonably significant number. >> so inflation may have been decisive in the election. immigration also is very important as you move to your third chart, steve. what does the border look like today? obviously, it was a problem. there was a crisis at the border during the biden administration, but that has change here in recent months. >> yeah. again, trump talks about the border being out of control. in fairness, like inflation, we had a tough run at the border. again, what i think most americans probably don't appreciate -- and certainly trump does not seem to appreciate -- is how far down they've come. this blue area are people who crossed between ports of entry,

between recognized entry points. the films you see of people going across the rio grande river and things of that sort. the green, the people who present themselves at the ports of entry. you can see how far it's dropped. in fact, the blue is all the way down here at about 47,000 a month, and that is a lower number of crossings than we had when trump left office when it was running about 70,000 per month. the border is quite secure at the moment, and contrary to what trump says, it has come all the way down. then there's energy. another subject that he keeps saying we've got to, you know, drill, baby, drill and create more energy. so you can see here, in fact, that our energy production has been hitting records. we've brought down our use of coal. that's a really good thing for the environment. we have temporarily replaced it with natural gas and crude oil. record levels in our history.

we have nuclear. we have grown renewables. also what is probably not appreciated and did start in 2019, but it's ac kel rated under biden, the fact that we have become a net energy exporter. we export more energy -- mostly in the form of oil -- than we import, and so the idea that we're not producing a massive amount of oil and gas and all kinds of energy is also simply a fiction. >> there you go. "morning joe" economic analyst steve rattner, thank you very much for that clarity. we appreciate it. it is two minutes past the top of the hour. joining the conversation here on "morning joe," we have u.s. national editor at the "financial times" ed luce, msnbc contributor mike barnicle joins the table. kurt andersen is the author of two recent "new york times" best sellers "evil geniuses. the unmaking of america."

"fantasy land. how america went haywire." a great group to start with this hour, joe. >> a great group. a great football team. >> it's nice. >> look at all the people we have here. i'm talking offense and defense. >> all friends. >> we recruit better than the university of alabama, which really isn't saying much these days. >> yeah. >> we're going to get to kurt in a minute. you know, if you don't want -- don't read kurt's books. the titles -- >> kurt's often right, joe. >> kurt is right. >> sometimes you have to. >> you don't start spy magazine by accident. >> no, you don't. >> that is an evil genius right there. so i want to -- i was thinking

about this last night, ed, as i was going to an event in town. we're looking at steve rattner's charts and i was thinking economically about america as i was going past other embassies. i was thinking about what i'm hearing from across the world, what i've heard on my recent trip we've discussed to london and to europe. economically america is a colossus right now in a way that it hasn't -- maybe it was this way at the turn of the century, but it seems that -- whether it's russia or china, our competitors are in retreat. europe's struggling. its economy is stagnant. britain has cut itself off from the eu, and still, it's -- i won't say it's in sort of

pre-thatcher status, but it's close. talk about -- i only ask you after steve rattner's charts, let me ask you this -- because sometimes i don't think americans understand how the rest of the world looks at us -- i can say everywhere i'm going, it's -- it is -- unlike the last 20 or so years, it's now like economically with awe, saying that we have animal spirits that -- quoting the great british economist that other countries don't. >> it's very true. if you look at what's really powering american growth and valuations, it's these extraordinary seven tech companies and the ai -- the expectations for ai. they haven't begun to be fulfilled. nowhere else other than china has any competing with the united states. europe doesn't have any presence

in ai. >> why is that? why isn't -- why not britain? >> why not? >> what has happened? because they appear to be just throwing up their hands saying we can't compete with america in this area. >> i mean, britain has had quite a bit of innovation in this area. deep mind bought by google at a price of a fraction of what it's worth today. there's quite a lot of start-up activity in pockets of scandinavia, in the netherlands and in britain. but as a whole, the continent is fragmented and divided. it doesn't have one deep liquid capital market. it doesn't have sand hill road. it doesn't have a big venture capital and risk taking and bankruptcy is good kind of culture. >> right. >> you need to create these kinds of spectacular bets. that's one of the things.

the other is china is really sort of deflating like a souffle. >> it really is. >> four years ago when biden came in, its growth rates were still fairly ominous. they're not anymore. it's trading water. china is in a weak position. china, you know, is -- this is a moment where we've got a lot of leverage over china because it wants to keep things quiet and grow. it's got a demographic crisis. if you look at all of these things, i don't think it's that america is the spectacular utopia, but it's the least bad, the least ugly person in the beauty contest. >> you're basically saying we're the tallest building in new york. >> correct, but yeah. >> something like that. >> gene, it's important for americans to understand this because we've been hearing for years that china was going to overtake us. >> yeah. >> i will say since 2006, i have been mocking that. this sounds a lot like 1989.

>> you might remember when japan -- >> japan. >> the juggernaut. they were going to push us off the map. >> my god, they bought pebble beach and 30 rock. they were going to destroy us. i heard the same thing with china. china, 20 years later, they have a demographic time bomb that is going off right now. xi has just completely strangled innovation. he's taken their most successful people and thrown them in jail or threatened them with jail. basically made the calculation, we don't want you to be too successful economically. >> i mean, it is a command society, right. a controlled society. it's not really communist anymore, but it is controlled by the chinese communist party nominally. the party does not want to share power with a bunch of

independent-minded billionaires who are off doing whatever they want to do. that's not what xi wants. he wants everybody under control. as soon as somebody like a jack ma or somebody starts to rise and become like our tech titans, he, you know, smashes them down with a mallet essentially. yes, that puts a damper on growth and innovation and potential in a way that just doesn't happen here. china's got problems. >> yeah. >> i mean, it's an amazing -- they've come an amazing long way. you talk to anybody who knows about military affairs, for example, and they say, no, seriously, take china seriously. >> right. >> but as a society, they've got problems. >> kurt, we had you on the show, i think it was for a month or two, i'm not sure, it kind of

blurred together, for a very long time, to talk about what i as a conservative and you as a liberal believe actually is one of the great threats to this strong american economy. it's what scott talked about before. he talked about the concentration of these monopolies -- five, six, seven monopolies. there's no other way. if you look at a classic definition of monopoly, five, six, seven of these silicon valley companies are monopolies. the income disparity. we've had the greatest transfer of wealth, redistribution of wealth, in the history of mankind from the '80s and really starting in the early 1990s to today, going from the middle class to the richest billionaires and scott galway talked about it last hour, just saying the tax system is rigged.

people like him that make hundreds of millions of, basically pay 10, 11% of taxes. somebody that's working and starting a small business in new york state or other places is paying like 50, 52, 53% of taxes to governments up and down the line. while the richest of the rich have like maybe a 6% effective tax rate. >> yep. you mentioned earlier, joe, a moment ago about the incredible economic robustness and growth of the united states right now. you said, oh, we're a colossus right now. i think that's a very apt comparison because what we saw -- what we're seeing what donald trump wants to do -- we saw it at this incredible press conference yesterday -- is his embrace of the kind of robber baron gilded-age corruption that

was endemic in that period and that we had the tea pot dome scandal back then. we had just brazen corruption that led to -- in addition to the great depression and reform in the new deal -- just incredible inequality. he put it on parade during that press conference saying, oh, here's my billionaire golf course developer partner. we're going to give him some government deals to build data centers all over the united states. my son eric is off in the middle east building some trump towers right now. by the way, the saudi golf tour is doing great business. they just announced they're going to bring their tour to my hotel, the doral in miami, and on and on. his middle east envoy, who is

also his cryptocurrency partner, was there talking about israel and gaza. the merger of just blatant and brazen economic financial corruption with his foreign policy. then, of course, the foreign policy of the era. the imperialism back in the turn of the century when we took cuba, took the philippines, took puerto rico by a little war that his beloved william mckinley, the republican president at the time, started. that's the, you know, history repeating or rhyming that donald trump wants to bring back. he wants to go back to that -- to those terrible times that, by the way, didn't end well. >> you know, you've described and we've heard this morning from scott galway and you're referring to it, an oligarchy in this country, a corrupt

oligarchy of wealthy people. scott pointed out ten years ago what did he say, 500 billionaires in america and today there are 2500. we have the ruling or the decision yesterday by mark zuckerberg to take basically no responsibility for anything that anyone does on facebook. that gets me to the country itself and to our children. it's frightening to think of how many children -- it was pointed out a couple times today already -- the percentage of young people on facebook who derive all of their news from facebook or tiktok. if you leave the coasts, if you leave the east coast or the west coast, you're looking at a news desert now. local newspapers, local news is gone. we've reverted to tiktok and stuff like that for our children. we have the president-elect of

the united states just yesterday decrying what a terrible country this is. >> right. >> what was the exact quote that he used? >> what a horrible place he said, talking about our election process. >> what a horrible place. what a horrible place. how do you convince people that the america we live in, the america, the roots of america that we know about, it's not a horrible place. >> i will add to that, kurt, and you can respond to this -- because everything you described what trump is doing at his press conference yesterday sounds very shocking to us, to many. i also think that it's fair to say it's self-defeating and self-destructive for him and not in his best interest, which is another conversation. at the same time, isn't this exactly what his supporters want to see? wouldn't people who voted for him say, oh, that's great? how do we navigate that

disconnect? >> i think one thing we have to remember and look at is the 49.5% of the electorate who voted for him are not of one mind, right? there are some of them who the low information voters that put him over the top, yeah, they want the big -- i'm a selfish, shameless bully and look at him, he's being that. let's make america -- >> bigger. >> like me, donald trump is thinking, like a selfish bully who cares about nothing but money. we'll see if everybody goes with that for how long. we'll see also, as he replays his greatest hits as he did yesterday -- i'm going to stop windmills. no, you're not. >> he won the election. i'm just saying, there are people that support him that know him. >> he won the election. we'll see also, you know, starting in two weeks if -- to what degree his tune changes. he will still complain about what biden did.

oh, look, inflation is down. he will then go through the steve rattner charts without the full context and suddenly he'll be taking credit starting january 21st. >> you know, it's so fascinating. the 21st is going to make all the difference in the world and suddenly america is going to be made great again. you know, you look, mark, at the consumer confidence index, an republicans, you know, oh, it's the worst thing ever. they say this economy is the worst economy. we feel horrible about ours. donald trump wins. republicans shoot straight up. >> the graph -- >> and the democrats went down. oh, now democrats are saying this is the worst economy we've ever had. again, i think so much of this america is a terrible country lasts until about 12:01 on january the 20th, and that's

when republicans are going to be saying america, great again. >> it does give you a window into the power of political messaging. when you look at so much that has been mentioned in this hour, whether from scott or steve or whoever, i mean, juxtapose with what donald trump was saying yesterday and so much of the country believes, probably based on a lot of republican messaging led by donald trump, you do have a sense -- and, look, i mean, this is something after so many people believed everything that donald trump said about the economy, about how this was this iconic economy that he presided over, i always thought the democrats might learn a lesson during the biden years that maybe it was politically smart to chest pump a little more, to take one page out of the trump playbook and actually work really hard to sell your economy. democrats, you know, i think take a very kind of super silly view of marketing, branding,

things that they tend to look down on, things that donald trump is known for, and i think has really sort of used to great political effect and also to effect branding the economy and making people feel good about the economy when he's in office. >> sam stein, i noticed his first term, he even got hosts on msnbc to say -- of course this is the greatest economy of all time, when, in fact, by the numbers it was ranked seventh in gdp growth post-world war ii, but he just -- we had the whole rollout of biden economics, let me show you if you look at this chart manufacturing per ratio, per whatever -- where donald trump says this is the greatest economy of all time. >> right. >> but it's just a difference between how democrats sell it and how republicans sell it. if republicans are selling it, then it is, greatest economy of all time.

you never had it better. this is unbelievable. just worst ever under -- something that democrats certainly recently i guess since bill clinton -- bill clinton could do it. >> the history of this last three democratic presidents, clinton '94, sam greenberg say do not talk about how great the economy, you'll seem out of touch. obama comes in, great recession. really hard to say things are getting better because people don't feel it. biden comes in. covid had just hit. really hard to say -- and inflation, of course. really hard to say things are getting better. in fact we are comparatively better. that said, trump -- he manifests things into existence, and one of the greatest accomplishments he had over the campaign was convincing the american public that his presidency ended in 2019, the covid years didn't

matter, and all those jobs that were lost, the people that died, suffering that took place, was not his responsibility. he convinced enough people to win. >> it is the power of nostalgia -- we talked about it yesterday -- people that went to vote. i completely agree with kurt, you cannot say that this 49.9% all voted for this or all voted for that because i've heard -- we've all talked to a lot of trump voters. they're like, i don't really like the guy. i wouldn't invite him over to my house for thanksgiving dinner. i voted for him. a lot of, you know, swing voters have said that, but there's the power of nostalgia, and i think we've overlooked covid too much. as sam said, people just remember, things were better with trump. things were better before the pandemic. things were better economically. groceries were cheaper.

gas was cheaper. and it's that nostalgia, that pre-covid nostalgia. people want to go back to how things were in the before times, and i think that's something that, again, not just democrats, i think a lot of us missed. >> staff writer at the at lannic, mark leibovich. good to see you. contributing editor to "the atlantic" his book "evil geniuses the unmaking of america" is a "new york times" best seller. coming up on "morning joe," in a brand new interview with "usa today," president biden says he believes he could have won his re-election bid. susan paige, who sat down with biden for that interview, will join the conversation ahead when "morning joe" comes right back. n "morning joe" comes right back thank you. it's our lowest price of the season on our most popular smart bed. save $1,000. plus 0% interest for 48 months. shop now.

(man) mm, hey, honey. looks like my to-do list grew. "paint the bathroom, give baxter a bath, get life insurance," hm. i have a few minutes. i can do that now. oh, that fast? remember that colonial penn ad? i called and i got information. they sent the simple form i need to apply. all i do is fill it out and send it back. well, that sounds too easy!

(man) give a little information, check a few boxes, sign my name, done. they don't ask about your health? (man) no health questions. -physical exam? -don't need one. it's colonial penn guaranteed acceptance whole life insurance. if you're between the ages of 50 and 85, your acceptance is guaranteed in most states, even if you're not in the best health. options start at $9.95 a month, 35 cents a day. once insured, your rate will never increase. a lifetime rate lock guarantees it. keep in mind, this is lifetime protection. as long as you pay your premiums, it's yours to keep. call for more information and the simple form you need to apply today. there's no obligation, and you'll receive a free beneficiary planner just for calling.

shopify's point of sale system helps you sell at every stage of your business. with fast and secure payment. card readers you can rely on. and one place to manage it all. whatever the stage, businesses that grow grow pete g. writes, "my tween wants a new phone. how do i not break the bank?" we got you, pete. xfinity mobile was designed to save you money and gives you access to wifi speeds up to a gig. so you get high speeds for low prices. better than getting low speeds for high prices. right, bruce? -jealous? yeah, look at that. -honestly. someone get a helmet on this guy. xfinity internet customers, ask how to get an unlimited line free for a year, plus a free 5g phone.

this is a live picture from our affiliate knbc. southern california under a state of emergency this morning. high winds described by some fire fighting officials as tornado-like, fueling massive wildfires, engulfing parts of los angeles county. nbc news correspondent liz kreutz has the latest from malibu. >> reporter: this morn the firestorm officials had feared becoming a reality with a third out-of-control wildfire exploding overnight in the los

angeles area. >> at the end of the day, i mean, who is ready for something like this? >> reporter: overnight flames reaching the iconic malibu neighborhood and its beachfront homes. multiple homes completely engulfed in flames with desperate residents rushing to get out. planes flying above the area capturing the massive reach of the inferno. the fire jumping pacific coast highway, burning all the way to the ocean, even threating the famed art museum. spreading to pasadena where the jewish temple erupted in flames. >> it's like a bad, horrific dream. >> reporter: dramatic video showing patients being evacuated from a senior center. the palisades fire igniting tuesday with the area's winding roads quickly clogging with cars. >> the homeowners are saying they're unable to access any exit routes. >> reporter: we are in

bumper-to-bumper traffic as hundreds of people try to get out. flames on both sides of the road. many abandoning their vehicles to flee on foot. >> police started telling everybody, get out of your car, leave your car if you want to live. >> reporter: a bulldozer brought in to clear a path pushing dozens of cars out of the way. smoke from the growing fire darkening the skies. this man breaking down, desperate to reach his dogs. >> i've been trying to get to my house for five hours. >> reporter: later reunited, his house thankfully saved. overnight a high school up in flames. the fire hitting some of california's most famed areas, home to iconic houses and sites and celebrities. chris posting overnight, please send prayers and strength. james woods posting this video of the fire approaching his home. steve guttenberg among those stepping up to help his neighbors. >> when things like this occur you realize how vulnerable you are, and how important community is. >> reporter: scenes of unbelievable devastation and

loss as the relentless winds fueling these fires show no signs of letting up. >> just breathtaking images. liz kreutz reporting there. john, we've been watching the realtime images come across social media continuing this morning before the sun is up in southern california, but we're talking about malibu and pacific palisades, in the his of west hollywood, parts of sunset boulevard shut down as the fire crews get up in there. just staggering to watch. >> evacuations beginning in santa monica as well. gripped by social media. the footage. >> it's the wind. >> tornado-style winds. the windiest stretch in months. apparently a relatively small fire yesterday morning in the palisades has exploded to thousands of acres. it is horrifying some of the footage we're seeing. the president of the united states, as we mentioned last hour, is there in los angeles. he's leaving later today. he had to cancel some events unrelated to the fire. the conditions were such he

couldn't hold those events. we've heard from the vice president as well whose home is in los angeles county. real concern as to what's coming. you know, it's obviously still dark there. there's a lot of fear, mika, people in los angeles county, our most populace county in the nation, these fires are far from done. the forecasts have another windy day today. there's no end in sight. >> with that wind you have no idea which way it's going to go. it's really impossible. we'll be following this throughout the show, of course. coming up, nbc's janis mackey frayer will join us live from beijing with a look at america's relationship with china and how it could change under the incoming trump administration. plus, a conversation about the long history of the 20th century and how authoritarian powers are challenging the post-world war ii order. "morning joe" is back in a moment. "morning joe" is back ina moment ♪♪ this is progress. learn more and try for free at freestylelibre.us

♪♪ —i have to find a babysitter. —i have a lot of questions. —when can they start? —today? now? —how about saturday? —are they background-checked? my wife and i haven't been out in a year. we need a date night! no offense.

find all the care you need at care.com my mental health was better. but uncontrollable movements called td,tardive dyskinesia, started disrupting my day. td felt embarrassing. i felt like disconnecting. i asked my doctor about treating my td, and learned about ingrezza. ♪ ingrezza ♪ ingrezza is clinically proven to treat td, quickly reducing td by greater than five times at two weeks. number-one prescribed ingrezza has dosing that's always one pill, once daily. and you can keep taking most mental health meds. ingrezza can cause depression, suicidal thoughts, or actions in patients with huntington's disease. call your doctor if you become depressed, have sudden behavior or mood changes, or suicidal thoughts. don't take ingrezza if allergic. serious side effects may include allergic reactions like sudden, potentially fatal swelling and hives, sleepiness, the most common side effect, and heart rhythm problems. know how ingrezza affects you before operating a car or dangerous machinery. report fever, stiff muscles, or problems thinking, as these might be life threatening. shaking, stiffness, drooling, and trouble with moving or balance may occur. take control by asking your doctor about ingrezza.

♪ ingrezza ♪ the future of cool, comfortable sleep is here. introducing the new sleep number climate cool smart bed. the only smart bed in the world that actively cools and effortlessly adjusts to both of you. sleep up to 15 degrees cooler on each side. it actively cools by drawing warm air away from your body, to keep you cool and comfortable throughout the night. our smart sleepers get 28 minutes more restful sleep per night. it's our lowest price of the season on our most popular smart bed. save $1,000 plus 0% interest for 48 months. shop a sleep number store near you. business. it's not a nine-to-five proposition. it's all day and into the night. it's all the things that keep this world turning. it's the go-tos that keep us going. the places we cheer. trust. hang out. and check in. they all choose the advanced network solutions and round the clock partnership from comcast business. powering more businesses than anyone.

powering possibilities.

peace, to peace understood traditionally, that is to say, the avoidance of what transpired in the course of the 20th century, and eurasia is also absolutely essential as a point of departure if there is going to be effective global cooperation. for some accommodation, some degree of balance, on the eurasian continent is essential. >> that's my dad, former

national security adviser for president jimmy carter, more than 12 years ago, talking about the importance of eurasia to the modern international order. the land mass of continental europe and asia and its place in recent history is the subject of the new book entitled "the eurasian century. hot wars, cold wars, and the making of the modern world." its author hal brands joins us now. he is the henry kissinger distinguished professor at the johns hopkins university school of advanced international studies and a columnist for bloomberg opinion. hal, it's great to have you back on the show. i think we drive right into the premise of your book. if you could, tell us what defined the eurasian century? >> well, dr. brzezinski had it right in the sense that eurasia has been the strategic center of

the world, and so if you have peace and stability in eurasia, you'll have a pretty good international environment. if you have instability and violence in eurasia, you're going to have a lot of trouble. the last 120 years or so have really been defined by these big, epic clashes over eurasia and the waters around it, and so during world war 1, world war 2 and the cold war, youed a autocratic alliances that tried to dominate eurasia and they were pushed back by coalitions led by britain and then the united states. unfortunately, we're getting another version of that today where you have an autocratic of russia, china, north korea and iran, that are disrupting stability all around eurasia at the same time. >> and you talked about -- we were discussing last hour basically the rise of america, the american lossus, whether talking about the turn of the 19th to the 20th century or

where it is right now, you actually say, the chaos, the unmitigated suffering, the wars across eurasia and the 20th century, is what ultimately led to america's rise. >> that's right. crises can be opportunities for creation, and what we learned during the 20th century was only the united states had the power to bring some degree of stability and order to the eurasian land mass. that's exactly what the united states tried to do after world war ii by creating alliances, by creating the open international economy that it has led for the past 80 years, and otherwise tried to impose a degree of order on international affairs. >> right. >> i mean the alliance of the aggrieved or the axis of upheaval, whatever you call it, a new and rapidly sort of de facto alliance against the west. you also have a new administration, trump coming in, where it's a de facto

co-president, elon musk, is actively trying to undermine, even overthrow allied governments in europe. germany appointing the far right. he wants new elections. america's power as you said in your book, i know, lays out, is based on alliances. how is this going to work out? >> i think those are real double-edged nature to the sort of policy and sort of nationalism that donald trump and some of the people around him espouse. on the one hand, it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world for the u.s. to be a little bit more sharp elbowed right now. just given the level of threat that has been emerging from china and russia and other actors and given the fact that the u.s. does need more effort out of its allies in europe and asia. the downside of it, you can become so coercive in your own right you're ripping apart the norms of the system that the u.s. created. i think that has always been the challenge for trump. can he channel the more constructive impulses without going in a destructive

direction? >> the u.s. base world order those alliances do seem to be weakening, they seemed to be threatened now. if that trend continues, what do you see happening? how do you -- does eurasia go back to world war mode? do things totally break down, do you think? >> americans think of alliances like furniture. they're just there. they've been around for so long that we think they're normal, and we forget how exceptional these liances are. they've deterred aggression against western europe or east asia, but also sort of tamped down the instability that used to arise from within these regions. the danger is if the u.s. pulls back from these regions, you'll either get an asia that's dominated by china, or an asia where there's a lot more nuclear weapons. countries like japan and south korea decide that's the only way

they can provide for their own security. either way it's just a much messier world. >> the new book "the eurasian century hot wars, cold wars and the making of the modern century" is on sale now. hal brands, thank you. congratulations on the book. thank you so much for coming on the show this morning. we appreciate it. willie? >> last month president-elect donald trump intends to nominate former republican senator david purdue of georgia to serve as the next u.s. ambassador to china. if confirmed purdue will succeed nicolas burns as the facilitator for what chinese president xi has described as the most important bilateral relationship in the world. joining us live from beijing is nbc news international correspondent janis mackey frayer, who spoke to ambassador burns on monday in something of an exit interview. janis, what did you learn? >> willie, ever the career diplomat, ambassador nicolas

burns is very careful in his phrasing. it's been a necessary skill here in dealing with chinese officials, as he saw u.s.-china relations hit historic lows. every meeting for him has been intense. i sat down him for a wide-ranging interview at the embassy earlier this week to assess where things are at as he leaves china after nearly three years on the job. he says the relationship is more stable than it was, say, the monday morning after the balloon crisis. there are now official talks on issues like fentanyl cooperation, climate and between militaries, but the people-to-people exchanges that burns likes to call the ball last of the relationship, have not come back. he also had sharper than usual thoughts on china's behavior in the recently with taiwan and the philippines and its support for russia in the ukraine war. while burns said it wouldn't be fair to comment on how president-elect trump might handle u.s. foreign policy in his second term, he did at one point offer thoughts on the importance of allies to counter

the likes of russia, north korea and iran, which struck me as less of a message to china than some not so veiled advice for mr. trump. >> if there's one thing i leave this job as ambassador to china and believe in so deeply, we have got to keep our allies close to us. we've got to continue to work through the allies because that multiplies and expands american power in trying to deter some of these really pernicious actions. we can't forsake our allies. we've got to work through those alliances. that's one way to compete with china effectively, to win part of the competition for power, but also to keep the peace with china. >> reporter: over the past four years, the biden administration has put a lot into building alliances in this region. this sort of ties that were questioned by president-elect trump during his first term, and

that is now weighing on the minds in japan where there's a temporary prime minister and south korea, which is mired in political crisis. allies now surrounded by three nuclear neighbors. here, burns managed to level the temperature of u.s.-china relations, but he says the onus is on china to keep it stable. interestingly, he said that beijing should lift its sanctions against marco rubio if he's confirmed because they, quote, have to talk to the american secretary of state. he says, it's not going to work in a world where china needs to work with the united states. willie? >> nbc's janis mackey frayer, thank you so much for your reporting this morning. still ahead, we're going to dig into mark zuckerberg's decision to end fact-checking services for facebook and instagram and whether or not donald trump had some influence on that move. also, we'll be checking back in out west where raging wildfires are ripping apart neighborhoods in los angeles,

los angeles county. heavy, heavy, heavy winds are making this impossible to fight and impossible to again where -- to gauge where it's going go next. there are massive evacuations under way. a lot more news on that straight ahead. d. so, here's to now... now available: boost max!

there are some feelings you can get with any sportsbook. ohhh! the highs! so, here's to now... no, no, no. the no, no, noooos - oooooooo! the oh, oh, ohhhhs! now whatcha wanna do with this? but the feeling that, no matter what, you're taken care of. ohhh, i just earned a hotel suite! hee! you only get that here. at the sportsbook born in vegas, where they know how to treat you right. who you talking to jamie foxx? bonus bets. exclusive offers. real world rewards. betmgm. download and bet today. if you have generalized myasthenia gravis, picture what life could look like with... vyvgart hytrulo, a subcutaneous injection that takes about 30 to 90 seconds. for one thing, could it mean more time for you? vyvgart hytrulo can improve daily abilities and reduce muscle weakness with a treatment plan that's personalized to you.

do not use vyvgart hytrulo if you have a serious allergy to any of its ingredients. it can cause serious allergic reactions like trouble breathing and decrease in blood pressure leading to fainting and allergic reactions such as rashes, swelling under the skin, shortness of breath, and hives. the most common side effects are respiratory and urinary tract infections, headache, and injection site reactions. it may increase the risk of infusion-related reactions and infection. tell your doctor if you have a history of infections or symptoms of an infection. talk to your neurologist about vyvgart hytrulo for gmg and picture your life in motion.

all right. we're looking at pictures taking place right now out in the los angeles area of massive wildfires that are being pushed

by santa ana winds which were topping 60 miles per hour yesterday. some are saying they could top 100 miles per hour today in some areas. this is creating a massive catastrophe in this area. firefighters have been trying to battle these wildfires, but it's almost impossible with these winds. homes are being destroyed. roadways are clogged. tens of thousands have fled the area, straining resources in surrounding areas and creating havoc in an area that truly is hard to get in and out of on a normal day. mike barnicle? >>, mika, i've been texting friends of mine, residents out there in the pacific palisades, the images we're looking at are horrific no doubt about it. the winds are unimaginable, 70 miles an hour, maybe higher when

the sun rises and the winds come off the ocean. the messages i've received, i heard back from a couple people i was texting out there, the idea of escape is beyond horrific the terror involved. the sunset strip, sunset boulevard, is an iconic phrase. it's a street. it's 23 miles long. it runs up through the foothills of the low mountains we're looking at now in the pacific palisades. it runs all the way down to the pacific ocean. it is impossible to get out of the narrow streets and routes along the sunset boulevard in the palisades, somewhat in santa monica. cars are jammed, i'm told, by texts for miles. they have to get out of their cars and walk to safety. hopefully they get to safety. but it is almost beyond imagination what we're looking at and what they're enduring. >> first responders from the area and from the surrounding areas have been called in. the governor calling it an all hands on deck situation.

just to do anything and everything possible to try to protect lives. again, the weather, the erratic weather, is causing them to not know where this is going to go next. joe biden is in the area. he had to cancel several events because of this. where he's staying, he can even see the smoke from his hotel. there's no estimate right now on the damage, but the -- about 30,000 residents were under evacuation orders, and more than 13,000 structures under threat. that was as of yesterday, willie. so it's horrific. >> some of the wind speeds you're talking about, we're getting into low like category one hurricane winds. if you get up to 75 miles an hour, that's a category one hurricane. there's no fighting that like you say. we talk about people getting out of their cars and walking where? to where? on foot? there's no escaping this. john, these pictures get worse as they continue to come across.

we're thinking about all the people in southern california because as you said a few minutes ago, this happened so fast. small fire in pacific palisades, that has now become an inferno engulfing southern california this morning. >> unfortunately a real recipe for disaster here. a very dry, the high winds, small fire quickly explodes. three major wildfires in southern california going all at once. a few smaller ones erupting as well. to your point, i mean residents abandoning cars under orders but with the cars left there that's further blocking roads. we saw footage earlier of bulldozeers trying to clear space so emergency vehicles could get through. we are -- to mike's point, these are -- a lot of these neighborhoods are in very -- there are hills and canyons, winding roads, difficult to transverse any day with los angeles traffic, and now this. the wind is still whipping. likely the forecasts saying the wind will start to die down

later in the day, but that's still several hours away. mika, untold devastation as people in los angeles, many of whom likely were up through the night worrying about their homes, about their schools, about their property, and there's no sense that the fire is slowing down any time soon. >> all right. we'll be following this, obviously, throughout the show and throughout the day here on msnbc. joe? >> we'll be continuing this story at the top of the hour. sam, you're, obviously, throughout the day, you are going to be covering the fires out in l.a., but also, you're covering what's -- what's happening in washington, d.c., soon enough. the confirmation hearings are going to begin soon. who's first up? what do we expect to see? >> it's interesting. those two stories are related. at some point congress is going to have to consider fire relief, disaster relief for california. donald trump has been very publicly saying he will not approve this unless california changes its policies. the reason it's related to the

confirmation hearing, we've talked about this idea of submission, standing up to trump, where these parties and how congress is an institution will deal with this incoming presidency. for the confirmation hearings, pete hegseth coming up. we are looking at what senators do. especially with this one, where you have a lot of red flags, how much are republican senators going to put their heels down and say no, we need more information. we want some answers. we want to judge this on its merits and not rubber-stamp this confirmation. how much are we going to let trump dictate the terms here. we're covering this stuff for the broader questions of what role. this is our first indication of what role a republican-run congress will play in standing up or at least asserting its own independence from trump. >> what trump is supposed toto meet with republican senators later today. >> trump is going to be in d.c. today to attend the carter lie in state at the capitol.

a lot of this is about what kind of bill he wants, this reconciliation question. these questions will arise. what do you do with disaster aid? what do you do with these nominees that are controversial? >> there are quite a few that are controversial. we saw about four or five there. i think most of them are going to get through that first batch. pete hegseth, a lot of questions still being raised about him, and certainly questions being raised about kash patel as well. we're going to get a live report from southern california, where, again, hurricane-strength wind gusts are fueling wildfires and forcing more people to flee their homes this morning. "morning joe" back in a moment.

(auctioneer) let's start the bidding at 5 million dollars. thank you, sir. (man) these people of privilege... hoarding the financial advantages for far too long. (auctioneer) 7.5 at the back. (man) look at them — unaware that robinhood gold members now enjoy the vip treatment — a 3% ira match on retirement contributions. (auctioneer) 11 million sir. (man) once they discover their privileges are no longer exclusive... their fragile reality will plunge into disarray. ♪

so, you're 45. that's the perfect age to see some old friends, explore new worlds, and to start screening for colon cancer. yep. with colon cancer rising in adults under 50, the american cancer society recommends starting to screen earlier, at age 45. i'm cologuard, a noninvasive way to screen at home, on your schedule. and i find 92% of colon cancers. i'm for people 45+ at average risk for colon cancer, not high risk. false positive and negative results may occur. ask your provider if cologuard is right for you.

let's say you're deep in a show fal or a game or the game.e results may occur. on a train, at home, at work. okay, maybe not at work. point is at xfinity. we're constantly engineering new ways to get the entertainment you love to you faster and easier than ever. that's what i do. is that love island? >> we are going to be changing the name of the gulf of mexico to the gulf of america. >> yeah, let's do that, why not? i guess gulf of america does have a ring to it as in, there

was another horrific oil spill in the gulf of america. >> if i understand this correctly, the gulf of mexico will become the gulf of america, new mexico will be dry america and cinco de mayo will be the fifth of may oh. >> staying up all night drinking diet coke to come up with the gulf of america. >> the late-night show is reacting to donald trump's news conference yesterday where he also suggested using military force to take control of the panama canal and greenland, we are going to play for you his comments on that and we will have a fact check on his claims that he is inheriting a bad economy. i think perhaps that might not be true, we will check into it. also ahead, we will go through the major change coming to facebook and instagram, when it comes to fact checking, as mark

zuckerberg said, it will be up to users to combat misinformation on both platforms, joe, this is one of the biggest stories of the day we are going to be getting two. >> it really is, a lot going on in washington obviously, jimmy carter, the former president is going to be celebrated and remembered all this week, lying in state at the united states capitol rotunda and a bipartisanship, i'm sure everybody around the table will tell you is certainly broken now when you hear leaders of both parties talking about president carter, his character, the man he was and the life he lived. also, gene robinson proving again the debate whether washington is a northern city or southern city, the second

there is an inch of snow in washington, it is once again, that adage has proven true. >> yes, it is a mess out there, so it hasn't been snowing for a couple of days actually. >> and they haven't plowed a single street. >> well, the lack of plowing is really sending a message, yesterday was just ridiculous, it didn't stop snowing and it was basically impossible to get from my house to hear, i came in and i got here early, but it was touch and go because the entire downtown washington was not plowed. >> here is the attitude, one of the greats in washington history, on a vacation in jamaica in the early 90s when there was a massive snowstorm and his quote was i believe etched above the rotunda, when

asked what he was going to do about snow removal, he said god brung it, god can take it away. >> that might be his second most famous quote. here is an opposing view, i don't think it has been that bad. >> have you been out? >> i have. this is just in my experience, my lived experience. that has always been my spring. i have always been in class full kind of guy. >> speaking of, willie guist, new york, they are looking at rex ryan and they are thinking, this guy can make the difference. >> are they going to do this

again? >> and by the way, ford bringing it back, there it is, the red appeal, bringing rexy back. he has been openly campaigning for the job, perhaps pairing with aaron rodgers if he returns, we have seen this move before a new york and now it looks like the jets are entertaining the idea of making rex ryan their coach again. >> they used the word entertaining, that is what rex ryan would provide, that is what the nation needs right now, the return of rex ryan. he was here for a couple of years, and he flamed out spectacularly over a couple of years and he has been sitting in the media ever since and has been remarkably openly lobbying for this job, each and every day, saying i'm the guy for it. i'm not sure jets fans would agree necessarily but they have a lot of decisions to make and

clearly they are trying to make them. >> really, in the sports world, mark and john will tell you this, they have stopped with the news that bobby del buck is going to be a chicago white sox. >> we were all white sox fans. >> watching him hit like 40 bombs for the white sox. >> this is the only reason you wanted me and jonathan to be on the first hour, you get rid of all the inside jokes, what is more important than us being amused? >> actually, we kept going, with his fake phone churchill quotes. >> we have a lot to get to, you have seen this in washington,

we have a full table and a lot to get to this morning including a state of emergency in southern california this morning as high wind around los angeles fuel a rapidly spreading wildfire, that is destroying homes and forcing massive evacuations right now. >> reporter: panic in the pacific palisades. as a wind driven wildfire blazes through one of southern california's most iconic neighborhoods. >> people are panicking and it is a parking lot, there's about a one hour wait. >> i rushed over here to pack my belongings and i got the evacuation orders. >> reporter: multiple homes burning with multiple people being told to get out, many abandoning their cars in the gridlock traffic. fire crews using a bulldozer to push cars out of the way to clear a path.

>> we are in bumper-to-bumper traffic right now, you can see flames on both sides of the road with very little visibility. >> evacuation orders are in place for approximately 30,000 residents. households threatened, approximately 10,367. >> reporter: nbc los angeles station inside this hard-hit neighborhood. >> this is a large clock care, an antique, beautiful family clock on the ground, also photo albums that the firefighters pulled from the home just minutes before the flames overtook it because they felt like they at least wanted to save something. >> reporter: smoke from the growing fire scene miles around l.a., another brush fire in west hollywood. this is something you hardly see here on sunset boulevard, there was a brush fire that shut down the road, all these firefighters trying to get

ahead of the wind, putting out the flames that were up in these hills. firefighters using airdropped to put out the flames, 19 million people under red flag warnings with wind gusts around the state expected to reach 100 miles per hour in some areas, sending trees onto cars and power lines. the intense smoke creating dangerous air quality across southern california with the firefight continuing where high wind is expected to only further fan the flames. >> just incredible picture, let's go over to angie glassman . >> unfortunately, the wind is going to worsen as the day goes on, for folks in southern california, no surprise we still have 19 million people under these red flag warnings, this is going to be a particularly dangerous situation, when we look at the three main fires we are watching, the hearst fire, palisades fire and eaten fire, there is so much we are picking up on the radar, that just shows

how massive these are. we have 45-mile-per-hour wind already happening in the area of the palisades, we will likely see that wind through the day across much of this region. another note, relative humidity values dropping to single digits, explosive fire growth across this region, we have this extreme fire risk stretching from glendale out toward ex-nerd and malibu, and that critical risk extends down to the border, that extreme fire behavior is going to be through the day today and the wind alert is up through the southwest, we have a high pressure and low pressure that this area is sandwiched between, the wind is going to stay destructive through at least the next couple of days, we will see likely some weakening of those by the time

we get to the end of the week and potentially into the weekend but for now we will continue to see that dangerous conditions lasting for folks in that region. >> officials describing some of the wind asked her nato like, jumping highways, some people sheltering on the beach this morning. angie lassman, thank you so much. we should point out, president biden is out there in southern california, what does his schedule look like? >> he had to cancel an event yesterday, they could make the trip because of the dangerous wind and fire, he is still in l.a., he is slated to return to washington today, he put out a statement, of course the government is monitoring this and offering assistance as they can, they have a home not far from where these fires are raging and some of the footage we saw last night, we saw on social media, truly terrible and already real concerns, let's remember, in just two weeks, it'll be donald trump as the president and he in the past has tried to withhold federal assistance for wildfire recovery because of the feud

with gavin newsom. but, that is something for down the road. right now just of course prayers for those, including first responders, the county of los angeles had to have an all hands, all members back to work, very rare. >> still, very much developing, who knows where this could go, so we will keep you updated. also, in a news conference yesterday, donald trump suggested that he would consider military force to gain control of the panama canal and greenland. and economic force to acquire canada. nbc news senior correspondent, gabe gutierrez has more from the news conference. >> at a marathon news conference in mar-a-lago, president trump not ruling out using economic coercion to retake the panama canal and acquire greenland. >> talking about panama and

greenland, i cannot assure you on either of those two but we need them for economic security. the panama canal was built for the military. >> trump saying the decision to return control to the panama in the 90s gave too much influence to china. >> china has basically taken it over. >> and arguing the u.s. needs greenland for national security. >> you have russian ships all over the place, we are not going to let that happen. >> of the provocative comments as donald trump jr. visited greenland in the days the prime minister vowed that his country's territory is not for sale. >> this looks like an incredible place. >> but his father laying out an aggressive foreign policy expanding u.s. influence policy, even wanting to change the name of the gulf of mexico. >> the gulf of america, what a beautiful name and it is appropriate and mexico has to

stop allowing millions of people to pour into our country. >> after mocking canada as the 51st state, trump is floating the idea of using economic nonmilitary force to annex the ally. >> because canada and the united states, that would really be something, you get rid of that artificially drawn line and you take a look at what that looks like and it would be much better for national security. >> justin trudeau responding, there isn't a snowball's chance in hell that canada would become a part of the united states. >> by the time i get back into the u.s. office, all hell will break out in the middle east. >> as we watched that yesterday, this was a return to oh, yeah, this is what it's like

, just listing off grievances and whining of all of the injustices against him, even complaining about the election that he won suggesting there was something amidst with the election, what a horrible place because we run our elections like this. i guess the question for viewers, for the news media and others is, what do you do with this when most of it is trolling, most of it is not policy that is going to pursue, and there it was for an hour again yesterday. >> just a stream of rambling rant for an hour or so, and indeed, a reminder of what it was like in a preview of what is to come, but there are a few things we should take away, this is going to be the challenge over the next four years, to parcel through what he says and how much to take seriously. but, at face value, some of the stuff is troubling and dangerous, to suggest he would use military force to reclaim the panama canal that we have

been talking about for a week or more, or greenland, meanwhile greenland a part of denmark, a nato ally, that would be an extraordinary step for him to take any sort of moves. we have seen with canada, he says it won't be an invasion but he wants an economic pressure to push canada to be our 51st state and wayne gretzky should follow justin trudeau as the prime minister, we should note, she -- he has already put out a pass on that, he is not interested. but there are things we have to look at more seriously as well, this idea of facebook fact checking, that is because of the pressure he put on them, saying to the tech industry, you need to get on board or we will perhaps lean on you heavily. and the january 6 conspiracy theories, we can step those aside, but this is something where donald trump is again reminding us, and the world that this is going to be --

there's not going to be consistency here, there's not going to be a reliable ally and we can dismiss this as he is just talking but, he is talking about economic pressure, talking about withholding aid and i think global capitals are also trying to sort out how to handle this and some of them are very clear, there is blowback from that trolling for trump ilife, you look at canada for instance and talking about the 51st state, it certainly does not help the conservatives in canada right now who want to take control, the same thing is happening in britain where elon musk continues to interfere in british politics, all that is doing is helping a severely weakened labor government, but again, there is so much blowback to this and you know,

so much of it is, if we are to judge over the last four years, signature trolling and as david said, when pressed on greenland and these other things, with the new york times, writing this morning that when asked those questions, he responded with signature vagueness, so guess what happens. we talk about it. everybody talks about it. everybody writes about it, everybody is asking, is he or isn't he and the trolling is there and he is in the middle of the conversation. >> exactly, and to separate the signal from the north, what actually happens here? is he really going to rename the gulf of mexico? no. we can put that aside, but there are some other things,

forced to acquire the panama canal or greenland, that materially matters, only because of a signal to russia, go ahead, territorial sovereignty doesn't really matter, you can do what you want, taiwan, that is the signal, that is the noise, in terms of the vagueness, we have done this for eight years now, figuring out if this is just him riffing or if this is some sort of negotiating play and in some cases you can see the case where he's trying to, for instance, try to extract more concessions from canada or from denmark and greenland or from panama. but ultimately there is a cost to this which is chaos and it hurts our allies and it invites other world powers to basically metal in other sovereign nations the way we are meddling in canada, greenland. >> and somebody very close to

donald trump talking about, when you listen to him, always understand, he talks about deporting 13 million illegal immigrants. always understand, that's the opening hand, that is the start of the negotiations, everything, starting with the panama canal and we might take it over by force, they say, i'm not saying this, that is the opening hand, he doesn't like the fees or how it is being handled, or maybe he wants a higher surcharge on it, always look at these things as the opening volley in negotiations. >> but that has always been what trump has done, it is just different when you're president of the united states versus the head of a company, you can talk about acquiring canada if you're not head of state, if it worked like that as a country but i do think this is once

again the place we are in with the literal of trump and the negotiating of trump and we talked about this this morning, from a diplomatic perspective, i think sam exec excellent -- makes an excellent point, there are people on capitol hill who i have spoke to that say what if we agree on something and somebody whispers something new about trump and we have to go back on what we already moved down the policy in the legislative line. this is going to be the central thesis of the second trump administration, i think the best advice and i never find political books to be instructive when they are written by the candidates but the best advice i got in 2015 was, read the deal and you will understand the way trump functions, and again, we have to go back and reread because

that is where we are right now. >> that is great advice, and actually read the first three pages and he explains, he goes into office, picks up the phone, he starts talking, he has no plans, he sees what happens and that is where we are . >> this is who he is, this is what we are in store for america, you wanted this. you got it. >> mexico, by the way, was the gulf of mexico before there was the united states of america. >> it doesn't matter. it is one of those moments, where you always have to separate the signal from the ground noise, as a great admiral once told me, this is one of those moments where we may look back, and say gulf of

mexico, greenland, all this other stuff, you may realize that actually, the most important part of yesterday's press conference may have the biggest impact on american politics, maybe what he said about meta-and mark zuckerberg's total and absolute collapse on all fronts in that horrific video that he put out yesterday. that actually is something that may more dramatically change the landscape of american politics, at least over the next two to four years, until somebody else gets in control and mark, mark zuckerberg decides yes, sir, i will do what you want me to do, this is going to have sweeping impact. >> coming up, we will get to the fallout from meta ceo ,

mark zuckerberg's decision to end fact checking on facebook and instagram ahead of donald trump's return to the oval office, morning joe is back in 90 seconds. 90 seconds woman: we've waited so long for this spa day. oh yeah? shingles doesn't care. shingles is a painful, blistering rash that can last for weeks. grandmother: we got the best seats in the house! ha! shingles doesn't care. 99% of adults 50 years or older already have the virus that causes shingles inside them, and it can reactivate any time. guest of honor: everyone's here for my birthday! cute. shingles doesn't care.

but shingrix protects! only shingrix is proven over 90% effective. shingrix is a vaccine used to prevent shingles in adults 50 years and older. shingrix doesn't protect everyone and isn't for those with severe allergic reactions to its ingredients or to a previous dose. tell your healthcare provider if you're pregnant or breastfeeding. increased risk of guillain-barré syndrome was observed after getting shingrix. fainting can happen so take precautions. most common side effects are pain, redness, and swelling where injected, muscle pain, tiredness, headache, shivering, fever, and upset stomach. shingles doesn't care. but shingrix protects. ask your doctor or pharmacist about shingrix today. >> meta ceo mark zuckerberg has announced major changes to the fact checking content moderation practices to the social media platform.

hallie jackson has the details. >> new fallout after the move to eliminate traditional fact checking on the world's biggest social media platform. >> we have reached a point where it is too many mistakes and too much censorship, the fact checkers have destroyed more trust than they have created especially in the u.s. >> it is a significant shift from the fact checking put in place after donald trump's first win, they will now rely on community notes, user input, similar to elon musk, the company will also lift restrictions on hot button topics like gender identity and immigration, allow more politics into people's feeds and move its trust and safety team from liberal california to ruby red texas, all just days before president-elect trump retakes the white house. >> the recent election feels like a cultural tipping point

to once again prioritizing speech. >> it is a political move by meta , and just months after the president-elect accused zuckerberg of plotting against him in 2020, calling for life in prison if mark zuckerberg did it again, but after the win, zuckerberg traveled to mar- a-lago, his company donated $1 million to the mar-a-lago fund and now dana white is joining meta's board. >> meta, facebook, i think they have come a long way. >> some critics are concerned. >> fact checking is not censorship. >> what do you see as the trump factor, if you will, here? >> this is obviously a political decision. >> the trump demonstration will set key policy and as meta has push into the world of artificial intelligence, nbc news has used chatbots that

has been seen violating policies on characters and religious real-life figures. >> hallie jackson reporting, joining us now, professor of marketing at the nyu stern school of business, also co- host of the raging moderate podcast, scott, remember it was just four years ago that mark zuckerberg and facebook, meta pulled donald trump accounts down after the attack on the capital on january 6, and i you fast-forward four years, donald trump threatening mark zuckerberg during the campaign and it does look, just in the last couple weeks, like full capitulation giving donald trump exactly what he wants, what you see in this move? >> good to be with you by the way, i see that also, he should

stop using the term stakeholders and go back to the truth and talk about shareholders. four years ago, the term was called moderation, now it is called censorship, with this decision to ceo, that is kind of a two-for, the president that threatened to put him in jail for the rest of his life, and he gets to save upwards of $5 billion which is what they spend on the safety and security department and a price ratio of 30, that is a potentially $150 billion increase of marketable capitalization, mark zuckerberg on 50% of the company, you have effectively a get out of jail card from somebody who appears to be an oligarchy threatening to put people in jail and add $20 billion to his net worth, the greatest trade of 2024, it wasn't bitcoin, it was elon

musk contributing directly to the trump campaign and since he won, elon musk's worth has gone up, effectively about a 56,000% return on investment. so we have gone full kleptocracy , we can never in my opinion waive our finger at russia again when the president, the elected president is taking public trust and public authority of weaponizing government, threatening to use regulatory action against the competitors who don't give money to his inaugural committee or don't bend the knee, he is effectively in a kleptocracy, you know, russia is the role model, we are becoming more like russia every day, that is where we are. >> scott, sam stein here, i

looked at all these adjustments that zuckerberg was an outing, some were significant and somewhere overdone for instance, they already have offices in texas but he made a big stink about moving the content moderation office to texas, then i saw on cnbc, who suggested there is an ftc suit that is going to be considered in the next couple months that looks at whether facebook, sorry meta is a monopoly on social media network and she said this is plainly mark zuckerberg trying to get a sweetheart deal from the ftc, do you see it that way? >> i think that is part of it, and the move to texas not only pleases the conservative side of the aisle, to try to come across as more conservative, it's the ultimate quiet firing because if you tell, rather than a series of bad press releases u decide you are moving your safety and security team from california to texas, you're going to lose 30% to 50% of the employees, so this is again nothing about placating

the republican party and saving money and adding shareholder value and what is so shocking, just from a personal standpoint, what is the point of having all this money if you aren't at some point going to show some fidelity as a 40 or 50 something-year-old man that has the wealth of the gdp of a latin american nation to actually standing up and showing some fidelity to american values. tim cook, nvidia is worth more than boeing, when did the americans show up here? so this is not only incredibly shocking but disappointing from trump, but where's the leadership, where are the men that have such blessings and such prosperity from the rule

of law and capitalism and competition and we don't need more acquisitions, we need more breakups, one third of all media globally, meta, google , and if you don't think every day we don't pay higher prices, one company has 50% of all the commerce, amazon, the percentage of revenue has gone to amazon from third-party retailers has gone up 20% to 50%, look at the rent on facebook, when 24% of teen girls are now addicted to facebook, 6% of our teenagers are clinically addicted to drugs and alcohol, 24% are addicted to instagram. and the number of teen girls self harming has doubled. so if you want higher rent as a consumer, as a retailer and a

parent, that is where we are headed. >> coming up, renewed fighting on one of the most volatile places on earth, why pakistan is now paring out cross-border strikes into afghanistan, those details and some of the other stories making headlines this morning, straight ahead on morning joe. morning joe.

(auctioneer) let's start the bidding at 5 million dollars. thank you, sir. (man) these people of privilege... hoarding the financial advantages for far too long. (auctioneer) 7.5 at the back. (man) look at them — unaware that robinhood gold members now enjoy the vip treatment — a 3% ira match on retirement contributions. (auctioneer) 11 million sir. (man) once they discover their privileges are no longer exclusive... their fragile reality will plunge into disarray. ♪

(♪♪) hey what if we move back... hold on let me think. we need a miracle. miracle starting every thursday starting at 2:45 i love you. i know. find childcare that fits your schedule. learn more at care.com

>> time for a look at some of the other stories making headlines this morning, pakistan carried out air strikes inside afghanistan killing dozens of people late last month, it comes amid rising tensions between the two nations, pakistan claims the afghan taliban is harboring fighters who cross the border to carry out the attacks, we will follow that. democrats will maintain control of virginia state legislature, the party held

onto two key legislative seats in the first special election since resident elect trumps victory in november, it comes as a big relief to democrats who worried about a republican resurgence, and in the counties outside washington, d.c., and folksinger, peter yarrow has died, the group has several top 10 hits in the 60s including a cover of bob dylan's flowing in the wind which they performed at the march on washington. peter yarrow was 86 years old. coming up, biden said yes he could have won re-election, that is the headline from our new interview with the outgoing president of the united states, susan page joins us with that, straight ahead on morning joe. m.

this is steve. steve takes voquezna. this is steve's stomach, where voquezna can kick some acid, heal erosive esophagitis, also known as erosive gerd, and relieve related heartburn. voquezna is the first and only fda-approved treatment of its kind. 93% of adults were healed by 2 months. of those healed, 79% stayed healed. plus, voquezna can provide heartburn-free days and nights. and is also approved to relieve heartburn related to non-erosive gerd. other serious stomach conditions may exist. don't take if allergic to voquezna or while on rilpivirine. serious allergic reactions include trouble breathing, rash, itching, and swelling of face, lips, tongue, or throat. serious side effects may include kidney problems,

intestinal infection, fractures, life-threatening skin reactions, low b-12 or magnesium levels, and stomach growths. tell your doctor about your medical conditions, medications, and if you have diarrhea, persistent stomach pain or fever, decreased or bloody urine, seizures, dizziness, irregular heartbeat, jitteriness, chills, shortness of breath, muscle aches or weakness, spasms of hands, feet, or voice. voquezna can help kick some acid, and so can you. ask your doctor about voquezna. that is their question. and nobody knows shoppers better than shopify. the undisputed, undefeated, checkout champion of the world. businesses that want to win, win with shopify.

doctor box, there were many failed attempts to fix my teeth. i retouched all my wedding photos, and it was even affecting my health. i trusted you because you specialize in dental implants. you created a permanent solution and customized my teeth so it still felt like me. my new teeth have improved my life and changed my future. - thank you. - you're so welcome. finance the smile you want for as low as one forty eight a month per arch. schedule a free consultation.

>> coming up, a report on the fast-moving wildfires in southern california, the latest on the evacuations in the extent of the damage so far, we will have the forecast when morning joe comes right back. rik

>> when are you going to settle down? >> well, ask jesus. >> yes, at least he was a single man. come to class, we would love to see you. >> you know i've got health issues. >> she makes everything about her, she is rude, man. >> i'm sick to death of this. i just want it all to stop.

>> that was a look at the new movie, titled hard truths, written and directed by academy award nominated filmmaker, mike lee, it follows a brutally honest and deeply comp located mother, wife and sister who must confront her own struggles to find happiness and connect with her loved ones. joining us now, the star of hard truths, academy award and golden globe nominated actress, marianne jean-baptiste, thank you so much for being here this morning, your performance is getting a lot of acclaim and attention, tell us more about the film and what drew you to it. >> basically, what drew me to the film is working again with mike lee, he works in a very unique way, there is no script, you just know what you are

going to be doing with him, but you know that you are going to be on a journey of great collaboration and there's going to be something very interesting along the way, so the film follows pansy deacon who is the woman who is in a lot of pain and struggling to sort of live in the world, she has got a lot of fear and anxiety, -- >> talk to us more about your character in those connections she struggles to make with her family, is that something you have seen with your own life that you have brought to your performance? >> well, i think everybody has to deal with a difficult relative, and i think it is just highlighting that we yearn for connection, all of us yearn to sort of belong in a meaningful and deep way and this is a woman who needs those

things but just doesn't know how to go about getting it. >> there is an authenticity here, in part, you and the director improvised a lot of the dialogue, talk to us about that process. >> oh, yeah, all of the dialogue is improvised, from the time we shoot it, it is all scripted, we know exactly what we are going to say but yet the actors never see a script but yes. >> how does that play out, is that rewarding or challenging or all of the above? >> it is all of the above, really rewarding, because you kind of build this character, and i know pansy as well as i know myself because you do it in so much detail, so by the time it comes to improvising, you know exactly what she would say in any given situation. >> let's take a look at a clip from the film, one of those situations where she has an intense dinner with her husband and son. >> go into a supermarket

without being harassed by those cheerful charity workers, begging you for money for their stupid causes. cheerful people, i can't stand them, loitering out there, demanding your hard earned cash. it's a scam. they are scamming people. can't trust them. they want your phone number, your email, i asked one of them, i said, why do you want my postcode? i might as well just give you my front door keys so you can break into my house and kill my only child. >> tell us more about that movie, you should notice it is set in contemporary london, tell us about that scene and your relationship with the cast and your family here.

>> yes, this scene is a typical sort of dinner with the deacon family, with pansy coming home and ranting about her day, be it going to the dry cleaners or the dentist or the supermarket and her husband and son have become accustomed to just letting her rent. >> sitting there quietly with the clicking of the silverware as they eat. extraordinary performance, the movie will be in nationwide starting this friday, academy award and golden globe nominated actress, marianne jean-baptiste . congratulations and thank you so much for joining us. up next, we are going to turn to our top story and bring you the latest from southern california where wildfires are burning out of control this morning, plus, cnbc, andrew joins us with more insight on mark zuckerberg's attempt to

end fact checking on facebook, we'll be right back. right back. (man) mm, hey, honey. looks like my to-do list grew. "paint the bathroom, give baxter a bath, get life insurance," hm. i have a few minutes. i can do that now. oh, that fast? remember that colonial penn ad? i called and i got information. they sent the simple form i need to apply. all i do is fill it out and send it back. well, that sounds too easy! (man) give a little information, check a few boxes, sign my name, done. they don't ask about your health? (man) no health questions. -physical exam? -don't need one. it's colonial penn guaranteed acceptance whole life insurance. if you're between the ages of 50 and 85, your acceptance is guaranteed in most states, even if you're not in the best health.

options start at $9.95 a month, 35 cents a day. once insured, your rate will never increase. a lifetime rate lock guarantees it. keep in mind, this is lifetime protection. as long as you pay your premiums, it's yours to keep. call for more information and the simple form you need to apply today. there's no obligation, and you'll receive a free beneficiary planner just for calling.

—i have to find a babysitter. —i have a lot of questions. —when can they start? —today? now? —how about saturday? —are they background-checked? my wife and i haven't been out in a year. we need a date night! no offense. find all the care you need at care.com

two minutes before the top of the hour. welcome to the fourth hour of "morning joe" with breaking news. it's 6:00 a.m. on the west coast. 9:00 a.m. in the east. live pictures from los angeles county where wildfires broke out due to a dangerous windstorm and dry conditions in the area. the palisades fire rapidly expanded by thousands of acres over the course of just a few hours. as of last night, the fire burned roughly 3,000 acres of land with roughly 50,000 people ordered to evacuate. as of this morning, the l.a. county fire department reports the fires are 0% contained. wildfires also broke out roughly 30 miles east near pasadena. no injuries or deaths have been reported in either fires as of

this morning. california governor gavin newsom has declared a state of emergency and president biden, who is in los angeles this morning for previously scheduled events, has been briefed on the wildfires, while fema has already approved aid to try to combat them. that's the issue with these wind gusts, reported potentially up to 100 miles per hour as we get into today. joining us now the mayor of santa monica california. madam mayor, what is the latest? what are you hearing about the conditions there? >> well, as of now, the evacuation orders are unchanged in santa monica. we are awaiting an update from the command post this morning. thanks to l.a. city and l.a. county for the support in leading this incident as it is their incident, and just to our santa monica community, our fire department, who is providing

mutual aid, of course, and then all of our regional partner. at this moment our evacuation has remained unchanged, which is the northern part of santa monica, we have a mandatory evacuation from santa boulevard in the north and an evacuation order from montana avenue to san vicente boulevard. >> i just reported it's being reported that these fires are 0% contained. what are you being told about exactly where they could go next and what is at risk? >> well, we're not being told where they could go flex.next. as you all know we have no way of predicting the wind and which way they will burn right now. our santa monica canyon is safe. that could change at any moment, obviously. again, we are getting regular updates from the fire command post. we haven't gotten one, you know, as of 5:30 a.m. this is the information i have. we haven't gotten our next

update yet. >> yeah. >> currently there's no changes yet, and santa monica and the urban city is safe and in our canyon so far. >> can you tell us a little bit about the conditions that led to this fire being so explosive and spreading so quickly? we know about the winds. just in terms of resources, the city of santa monica there, the fire department personnel, emergency responders, are they able to get to where they need to go because of so many roads are blocked due to the fires or people trying to flee? >> yeah. i mean i'm sure you saw video footage of bulldozers plowing cars on sunset boulevard to make way because people had abandoned their cars in order to escape from pacific palisades. we were messaging out through all of our platforms using our santa monica alert and all our social medias to make sure that people stayed cleared of roads that weren't necessarily blocked at that point, but we wanted to make way for emergency responders. that was fairly successful. obviously, in the santa monica area, we weren't having that

problem with blocked roadways. however, i'm sure as i mentioned, you saw that cars did have to be plowed out of the way for emergency responders to reach those areas. you know, the winds are creating a very uncertain -- we're unable to tell what will happen at this point and it is sad to report there is 0% containment at this hour. >> because those winds are so strong and makes the fire so unpredictable and difficult to get ahead of, what's the latest you've heard from your meteorologists or officials throughout the day? is there an easing of the winds to make firefighters' jobs easier? >> the prediction there's going to continue to be winds throughout today, and unfortunately, you know, embers can travel up to a mile from a burning structure. that's what creates -- i think people often think that structures burn in a line next to each other. as you can see, things will jump and that's because those embers

can blow in any direction with heavy gusts, you know, up to 60, 70, 80 miles per hour, and that's what we've seen fires jumping across pch and reaching the beachside. it's really tragic as to how fast and how broad it's traveled because of the heavy winds. that's the only thing that we're hearing, is we're just monitoring the winds. it's severe wind warnings everywhere and we're just asking people to please listen to the evacuation orders to get your most crucial belongings and your loved ones. for those of you that are not in those evacuation zones to please charge your phones and get your flashlights ready. these are things we often don't have ready. power outages will be going, you know, possibly we will have power outages throughout the day. >> all right. the mayor of santa monica, california, thank you so much for coming on the show this morning. we'll be following this. we hope to talk to you again soon. let's go straight now to

malibu. nbc news correspondent liz kreutz is there. liz is an example of the extreme unpredictability of this developing story, liz has been separate from her camera. tell us why? >> reporter: hey, mika. basically i've never seen anything like this here. i grew up in southern california. this is like nothing you've ever seen with multiple fires raging across the l.a. region right now. we're on the pacific coast highway right now where home after home after home, beachfront properties, are engulfed in flames. i am looking at a mansion right now, a beach view mansion in the hills, basically exploded. the reason we're separated from my crew right now is because we had just gone a little bit down the road to scope something out and we turned around and there was then a live wire that had power line had fallen and a live wire was blocking the road and

now it blocked first responders. the most important thing now, there are multiple fire trucks here that i'm looking at that are stalled and can't get through because this live wire is down blocking the road. >> unbelievable. give us a sense in terms of what you know from your reporting about the damage to structures? how many structures? we really don't have a clear count. and where this fire has already spread to? we can't really predict where it's going to go, but what do you know about what it has done so far? >> reporter: yeah. this is the palisades fire right now. as of last night the latest update from officials it was threatening 10,000 homes. they haven't given a formal number of structures or homes that were destroyed, but we can tell you yesterday we saw multiple homes destroyed and just this morning, right now, i mean it could be hundreds of homes. it is truly mass destruction that we are witnessing right now, and firefighters can't get a handle on it.

they're trying to put out flames or stop flames from going to a nearby property, but they can't get a handle on it because there are hurricane-force winds they're dealing with. they're stretched so thin because there are so many fires igniting the l.a. fire department has put out a call asking any off-duty firefighters to come here and help them battle this. we know thousands of people are evacuated right now. mika, yesterday we were part of the hundreds of people that got stuck in the gridlocked traffic trying to navigate and get out through the pacific palisades neighborhood where we saw people literally abandon their cars and try to flee on foot. we were there as that bulldozer came through. my producer took that video of the bulldozer coming through to pave a path to get those cars out of the way. >> liz, the neighborhoods in harm's way here are nationally known iconic neighborhoods, the palisades, malibu. we had the mayor of santa monica. the palisades is not the only

one. three or more raging right now. can you give viewers a sense of the geography. where is the threat coming and why that makes the job so difficult for these firefighters? there's so many different fronts. >> reporter: yeah, that's the thing. that's what -- we've covered really bad fires, unfortunately, before, but to just see multiple, horrific, devastating fires all unfolding at the same time, is what makes this so incredibly unique and truly horrific and basically right now, we're on the coast. we're in the pacific palisades, malibu area for the palisades fire. santa monica is potentially threatened and is under an evacuation order. then you go east to altadena and the pasadena area, there's a fire there where thousands of people are evacuated. there's videos from a senior center overnight showing elderly patients being evacuated and

brought in their wheelchairs on to busses. there's another fire east of that also in l.a. county where there's videos of people trying to put out flames as they rush to evacuate. this is widespread across l.a. even yesterday, there was a small fire they were able to get a handle on quickly, but in the heart of l.a., west hollywood, shut down sunset boulevard. something you rarely ever see. that's what we're dealing with here, and it's due to these incredibly strong santa ana winds. >> yeah. liz, i'm looking at the map. i don't know if we can put it up, the red flag warning, the fire danger that's really hitting this massive area through tonight where 19 million people are at risk, and i wonder if there is a big picture plan, what the governor has said so far in terms -- i don't even know where they would put a command center, but where are they going to put these people if these winds keep going and how wide a swath of this area could this go?

>> reporter: all of those are such important key questions that i think everyone is trying to deal with right now. in fact, just yesterday, the staging area for the pacific palisades fire had to move twice. first it was at one location where then the fire station engulfed in flames. it had to get move to another location, where fire became so close they've moved it further north. that is how erratic this is. that is how fast this is moving. i think they're trying to grapple with that right now, is how to deal with the fact that, you know, right now we're talking about three big fires right now. these winds are only supposed to pick up. we're told the worse may still be to come. we're still in the midst of this windstorm, which means we have a full day ahead of us with more fires that could ignite. >> all right. we're going to be back on this very shortly and stay through it throughout the day here. nbc's liz kreutz. we'll talk to you again.

new this morning in other news, president-elect donald trump has asked the supreme court to block his criminal sentencing that is set for friday in new york over his 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. meanwhile, at a press conference at mar-a-lago yesterday, trump suggested the u.s. retake the panama canal and buy greenland. gabe gutierrez has the latest. >> reporter: this morning president-elect trump is not ruling out using military force to retake the panama canal or aware greenland. >> no i can't assure you on either of those two, but i can say this, we need them for economic security. trump says china has taken

advantage. >> reporter: trump is ramping up his desire to buy greenland for national security. >> you have russian ships all over the place. >> reporter: the danish prime minister insisting it's not for sale even as donald trump jr. visits as a private citizen. >> looks like an incredible place. >> reporter: some of the comments made by his father are coming with impacts for americans. trump vowing to slap tariffs on multiple countries including mexico, while suggesting renaming the gulf of mexico. >> the gulf of america. what a beautiful name. it's appropriate. >> reporter: trump also repeatedly mocking the u.s.'s other top trading partner, canada, joking it's the 51st state and suggesting using economic, not military, force to annex it. >> because canada and the united states, that would really be something. >> reporter: outgoing canadian prime minister justin trudeau responding there isn't a

snowball's chance in hell that canada would become part of the united states. and while trump draws attention on the global stage, president biden is speaking out in a new interview telling "usa today" he believes he could have won the election in november and asked if he would have had the vigor to serve four more years, biden responding i don't know. who the hell knows. so far so good. who knows what i'm going to be when i'm 86 years old. >> the journalist who conducted that interview, washington bureau chief -- that's a headline -- at "usa today" joins us now, sat down with president biden for his only scheduled interview as he finishes out his time in office. also with us, former msnbc host and contributor to washington monthly and also speechwriter for president jimmy carter, which we will be talking about at length in a minute, chris matthews. susan, start with you, i was going to ask you what the headline was, but gabe gutierrez told us there. so you -- this was published

this morning at 4:00 a.m. this is the first time you've talked about it. there is a lot here. first of all, he sat down with you for an hour. let me ask you the question that a lot of people would ask and people asked me after i talked to him earlier last year, how was he? how was he physically? how was he mentally? how was he as far as his attitude goes? >> a 55-minute interview. he was engaged and lively. he answered every question i posed. some of them was reflection, some of them with defensiveness. he looks older than he did the last time i interviewed him. >> when is the last time you interviewed him? >> the last time i interviewed him was before the 2020 election. >> okay. >> and so older now. his voice sometimes dips so it's very soft and you have to really

strain to hear him. he was -- seemed mentally sharp. we had a really far-ranging conversation. >> so what -- we heard gabe gutierrez talk about he wasn't sure where he would be at 86 and how he would be, but what was the headline for you coming out of this one-hour conversation? >> well, i think that was the newsiest thing he said, because he had never before, to my knowledge, ever acknowledged that he -- there was a possibility he wouldn't be able to fulfill a four-year term. also his statement that he believes he would have won if he stayed on the ticket. that's not the conventional wisdom about what would have happened if he stayed on the ticket, and we've had source reports that's how he felt. i think this is the first time he ever said that out loud. >> what about regrets? he finds himself in an interesting position. we've been talking today and

talking this week about economic numbers. ed luce from "financial times" and others, saying right now, economically america is a colossus comparatively. china is in retreat. the eu is stagnant. britain is stagnant. the united states just keeps growing. here you have one hand the data very strong and history will probably judge him very well on that, and yet there's such a sour mood not only in america, but among democrats, and not the exit that joe biden would have wanted. >> yeah. >> what regrets -- did he have any regrets? q. >> i think his number one regret he is not going to be there four more years. he wishes he could stay there. he named two things about his biggest disappointment. one was the difficulty and

combatting misinformation, including from donald trump. and the second thing he mentioned was their failure to act more quickly to get shovels in the ground from the huge infrastructure bill because he says that would have demonstrated to americans the value of that spending. >> so talk about his meeting with donald trump. obviously, these two attacked each other throughout the campaign in the harshest of terms. even said that donald trump was bad for democracy or a danger to democracy, something along those lines. but you say actually he said a few complimentary things about donald trump? >> joe biden told me that donald trump praised his economic record, said he was leaving a good record. that's quite at odd with what donald trump has been saying out loud through the campaign and since then. the other thing he said, he urged trump to reconsider his determination to

seek retribution, that that would be counter productive from his own interest. >> what was the reaction. >> he said trump didn't say he would take his advice. he didn't say he wouldn't. he mostly listened. >> and his attitude as he leaves the office? is he embittered? is he relieved? what's his mental -- >> he was the most animated with two things. one, when he talked about his son hunter's battle against addiction and the success he's had for several years in staying sober. the second thing was when he revealed that his first great grandchild is supposed to be born today by c-section. i'm not sure naomi is delighted her grandfather released that news. >> let's talk about hunter biden. obviously, he's facing criticism not only from republicans and conservatives, but a lot of democrats have gotten out and criticized president biden for pardoning his son.

did he have any reaction to that? >> he was defensive about the pardon. i asked him if he was worried he was setting a precedent a future president could abuse? he said i hope not. he launched into a defense about why he decided to go back on the promise for four years not to pardon his son. he determined it was a miscarriage of justice, not justice, he was being unfairly targeted for political reasons and that that's why at the end of the day decided to pardon him. >> i want to dig a little deeper on your hour with joe biden, and i want to dig deeper because it remains one of the just questions hanging over 2024, hanging over the biden candidacy, hanging over so much. i've said on the show several times that i went in and talked to joe biden at length, basically went around the world.

he talked at length, in depth, about china, about russia, about the middle east, about the west bank, about the settlements, about -- you name it. he took you around the world in a way -- very obvious -- over a long period of time, this is a guy doing this for 40 years. there aren't many people in washington that understood the angles and twists and turns with joe biden and afterwards, i said that. i said it on the show in realtime. he was slower. sometimes he'd forget a name. maybe macron was mitiron and he would correct himself. there remains this -- this mystery, and i -- i'm kind of dragging this out, if you talk to people inside the biden white house, i'll just say it, you

talk to jeff, if you talk to people who have worked with joe biden, i'll just say jon meacham, if you talk to people that have been with him for long periods of time, they will still tell you to this day, despite what all the noise out there, they'll still tell you they don't know what happened in that june debate. they are still, you know -- they're still frustrated by it and all accused of some grand cover-up, when actually, behind closed doors, they're still asking, what the hell happened? you were there for an hour. provide -- there haven't been many journalists that have been with him for as long as you have. i don't know anybody that has on the record in a very long time. help us with this mystery. any insights? >> you know, this is the seventh administration i've covered. it's the seventh president, sitting president, i've

interviewed. i've always thought presidents are well served by taking the risks involved in doing interviews and news conferences. they don't always go the way they want, and you take some flack. reporters can be, as you know, pretty annoying. but number one, i think it's part of your responsibility as being president, and, number two, it keeps you in touch with viewers, and number three, it keeps your skills sharp about dealing with questions and by explaining to americans why you're doing the things you're doing, projecting leadership. i was -- i thought that joe biden, like previous presidents, would be well served by more contact with the press, not less, despite the risks that are involved with doing that. >> you know, chris, while i'm naming names, i'll continue to name names out of school, and say that mike barnicle, from the beginning of this presidency, was angry that he felt that joe biden was being protected too

much, that, you know, advisors were trying to keep him away from the press because he may say -- he may say "mittiron" instead of macron. he may have done what ronald reagan did in '85, '86, in '85, '86, '87, '88, but i think susan is exactly right. i think joe biden was ill-served by being cloy sterred off because he may have said something that wasn't quite right, which, by the way, he has been doing since 1974. i'm curious, your theory of the case here? >> i think the question is why did he -- why was he protected during the super bowl when he was given a wide open opportunity to speak to the entire world, a bigger audience than a debate, when he could have talked to a softer interview and handled a tough question or two because most would be a roundup of good news

for him? what did he say to his advisors when he said, you can't do the super bowl interview, which everybody does? they must have said something. you can't risk it. you might say the wrong name. "mittiron" instead of macron. it wouldn't be like gerry ford saying eastern europe is free of the soviet union. it wouldn't be like that. >> the thing is, by the time we got to the super bowl interview -- which, again, was my biggest argument and people said joe biden would have run and won, i'm speaking specifically of my wife -- they didn't even let him do the super bowl interview. that tells you where they thought he was. but that was at the end of three years of him being cloy sterred off. i want to dig in deeper with what susan is saying here. we've seen it time and time again, when politicians are safe, right, when they want to have a primary with no opponents and the other side has ten people scrapping and scratching and clawing, it's always the

person that's in the battle, in the arena, fighting all along, that is sharpest. >> yeah. >> i just think, again, i just wonder what you think, as a guy who was in the white house -- >> i've been looking at a number of views. as a journalist and politician working for a politician before. why didn't he do an interview with "the new york times" ever the entire time? >> answer that. why do you think that is? >> because of the intricate quality of their interview. they would question him. they would be tougher on him than any journalist. i don't know. they're still angry about it. the publisher of the "new york times" is still angry about it. you do interviews. it is the paper of record. he didn't do it. why not? >> right. >> why didn't he get prepped for it? why no press conferences or cabinet meetings since the fall of last year, of '23? what was that about? why no meetings or press conferences? a lot of patterns not consistent

with the performance with susan. he's had a good day with you. he must have had a lot of bad days. why was anita hill and the other people around him, why were they protecting him? they were protecting him. why? and he has to answer that question. they're going to answer the question because that question is not going to end. >> so let me ask you this, obviously, you live in washington, you've heard these conversations. >> all the time. >> around dinner tables, you've heard concerns. you've got susan and myself, two people that have talked to him at length, and he was -- he was slower, but he certainly was sharp, and he knew the policy issues. what are you hearing? were there good days? were there bad days? good times? were there bad times? again, i want to go -- go to the debate. anybody that says to you they saw that coming is lying. >> okay. here's what i saw coming. here's what i saw coming.

in the '20 debate, elizabeth warren and bernie sanders were waving their hands constantly, let me talk, let me do this, and all the time biden sat there like a cigar store or something. why was he standing there doing nothing? he never participated in those debates. maybe there's something about him he doesn't want to debate. i don't know what it is. he didn't want to engage ever. >> right. >> everybody said, wait, aren't you the one that jim clyburn is going to throw it to in south carolina and win this thing? >> what's your theory on that? >> i don't know. he doesn't want to engage. >> do you think he's incapable of engaging? that's 2020. >> bernie knows how to do it. he's quick with the tactics. elizabeth loves to do a debate. why didn't he want to debate? this is well before the debate of the disaster of this june. >> i can't answer. >> i think his own staff people say you didn't want to debate back then when you had a couple

people on the left you could have knocked off, why didn't you challenge them from the middle? why didn't you do it? you're going to be the nominee. i think it's a great question. i don't know if we even the three of us can figure this out about joe biden and his decision about not wanting to debate, but he didn't debate in june. >> well, this is a question for historians and everybody thinks there's this grand conspiracy, this grand conspiracy to hide him. i did not see that. >> there was a clearance process for talking to the press. >> right. >> there was a clearance process that went through anita dunn. nothing wrong with it, but everybody d to be cleared. you never heard from the cabinet. i knew the kennedy cabinet better than this cabinet. they hid these people. they wanted him out there with the aviator glasses being the superstar. the staff people in the white house never talked. this is interesting. the whole pattern was, protect him. i understand there's a reason

for that and it's smart people that know better than we do about his ability to communicate. they know every day how good he is every day, not just when he's ready for an interview with you and susan, but every single day. antony blinken calls from moscow or somewhere and says here's the latest on this. maybe he was really good at that, at knowing putin and what putin is up to and figuring the guy out. i know what he's up to. he has a smart, cannery in way of looking at that. is he that good on television? no. not that good on television. >> the smart smart -- smartest people knew better. mike barnicle would say they were too smart for their own good and would -- i'm not saying -- >> barnicle gets on the phone and talks to him. he trusts him. he has a casual conversation. he speaks well. you say, he's okay. why don't they let him out. let him out. because they know more.

>> okay. i will tell mike that the next time i see him. we need to -- historians will be, i think, going to be -- >> i think meacham will look at this and see it from a wider angle. >> yeah. >> there's more there than meets the eye. >> i will tell you this, i -- again, i talked to jon right before the debate as we were just putting this out, and never saw it coming. i mean, he had talked to biden before the debate and five minutes into the debate, it's -- it's like what's going on. >> katzenberg didn't see it either. those guys were pushing him. >> he did. so, mika, we will continue this look back at 2024. i promise, like maybe a year from now. i think mika has had enough of this conversation. she still thinks he could have won. >> i'll have been right so i will wait for that conversation.

thank you, susan, for that. >> give your theory that you think he could have won. >> look, everyone knows how i feel. i made it very clear after the debate that i thought he should continue. but that was not what most people wanted, so -- but joe biden is the kind of person who pulls himself up from rock bottom and i think he could have stumbled into it. i really do. people responded very badly when he beat trump during that campaign to trump bullying him or going after his remaining son. people stood up for joe biden because they knew who he was. they know who he is. i think an aging joe biden is very self-aware about that and so is his team around him and he's still ten times more qualified than what we've got, and he's qualified to manage the world stage i think after that disastrous debate he did a news

conference, remind me, was it the nato summit? >> a couple weeks later. >> at 8:00 at night, and yep, he got names wrong. he had to correct himself a few times. his knowledge of world affairs was in depth and clear and generated what was the reality that this guy could manage the many different hot spots around the world. people chose to, you know -- filters instead of reality, which was his -- good president who was able to beat donald trump. end of story. >> there you go. what's coming up next, mika? >> coming up on "morning joe" -- sorry -- we'll have more on the devastating wildfires ravaging southern california as at least 80,000 residents have now been ordered to evacuate. we'll be right back. d to evacua. we'll be right back.

the itch and rash of moderate to severe eczema disrupts my skin, night and day. despite treatment, it's still not under control. but now, i have rinvoq. rinvoq is a once-daily pill... that reduces the itch... and helps clear the rash of eczema— ...fast. some taking rinvoq felt significant itch relief as early as 2 days. and some achieved dramatic skin clearance... as early as 2 weeks. many saw clear or almost-clear skin. rinvoq can lower ability to fight infections. before treatment, test for tb and do bloodwork. serious infections, blood clots, some fatal... cancers, including lymphoma and skin; serious allergic reactions; gi tears; death; heart attack; and stroke occurred.

cv event risk increases in age 50 plus with a heart disease risk factor. tell your doctor if you've had these events, infection, hep b or c, smoked, are pregnant or planning. don't take if allergic or have an infection. ♪♪ disrupt the itch & rash of eczema. talk to your dermatologist about rinvoq. learn how abbvie can help you save. tamra, izzy and emma... they respond to emails with phone-calls... and they don't "circle back" they're already there. they wear business sneakers and pad their keyboards with something that makes their clickety- clacking... clickety-clackier. but no one loves logistics as much as they do. you need tamra, izzy and emma. they need a retirement plan. work with principal so we can help you with a retirement

and benefits plan that's right for your team. let our expertise round out yours. eggs make all our family moments better. especially when they're eggland's best. taste so fresh and amazing. deliciously superior nutrition, too. for us, it's eggs any style. as long as they're the best. eggland's best.

♪ ♪ with so much great a entertainment out there... wouldn't it be easier if you could find what you want, all in one place? my favorites. get xfinity streamsaver with netflix, apple tv+, and peacock included, for only $15 a month.

back to our breaking news. we continue to cover the wildfires in los angeles county as the sun begins to rise on the west coast. let's go straight to jacob soboroff who is live in pacific palisades. jacob, what do you have? >> reporter: mika, it's devastating. it's the only way that i can think to describe this. this is pacific palisades. it's a coastal community here in los angeles. 23,000 people live here. i was born and raised here. i actually grew up in a house a couple blocks down the road. everywhere you look there are homes on fire. we're talking about dozens, if not scores, hundreds. i mean, it could be -- there are tens of thousands of people that are displaced right now, and what i want everyone to understand, you are just waking up in the los angeles area and you want to know what's happening in pacific palisades and for people outside of l.a.,

just so you know, this is a major community, a neighborhood. l.a. is a city of neighborhoods. this is a major neighborhood in terms of population and in terms of size. virtually every house down the main stretch of pacific palisades on sunset boulevard has gone up in flames between where i'm standing on what's called chautauqua street next there and all the way down into the palisades village. mika, to put this into perspective, pretty much every piece of infrastructure in town, both of the supermarkets, gas stations, doctors' offices, restaurants, the main public library in town, and houses on virtually every street that i have been down, including in the huntington palisades right in the middle of town have gone. there's a lot of policymakers that watch this broadcast every day in washington, the recovery from this is going to be one on the scale imagine of the big one from the earthquake. this is as bad as you can possibly imagine for a community

anywhere in the country, much less in the heart of urban los angeles. it is not something any of us expected. you can see the wind is still blowing right now. i can feel the heat from this building on my back. embers are still coming down. that is because it has been unbelievably dry. after two very rainy years here with a lot of foliage and vegetation, we are sitting in the foothills of the santa monica mountains right now, and this place was a tinderbox ready to go. whatever started this fire yesterday in the highlands of los angeles, spread so incredibly quickly that people left their cars on the streets, people ran away from this fire. bulldozers were called in. everywhere you look, things that made up this community, a very vibrant, very beautiful community in the heart of los angeles, is no longer this morning, mika. >> jacob, it's jonathan. first and foremost, please be safe. our hearts are with you there. can you give us a better sense of the response, what fire officials are able to do? we heard a short time ago these

fiers are 0% contained. with the wind, what can firefighters even do to direct, manage, try to fight this blaze? >> reporter: it's -- it is a game of whack-a-mole at this point, jonathan, because every street that i have driven down pacific palisades has a home or a business or a school or a piece of critical infrastructure on fire. it is a mutual aid response with firefighting officials from los angeles city, los angeles county, the state of california, neighboring jurisdictions like santa monica and malibu, coming to the aid of one another. those aircraft will probably be back in the sky as soon as day breaks here as sun is coming up here over southern california. governor newsom came out and declared a state of emergency. the los angeles police department is on a modified citywide tactical alert. officers from all over the city of los angeles are convening in this particular area to help with traffic management, with evacuations, with getting people out. a lot of people have questions about how this could happen, but i have to tell you i have

covered hurricanes for this network, it was hurricane-force winds last night. there are reports of gusts up to 100 miles per hour. many people are familiar with the santa ana winds coming from inland blowing out to the coast. some people call them the devil's winds. it's very dangerous during fire season. they have sparked an inferno in one of the best known, most populated parts of the city of los angeles, the likes of which in my 41 years on this planet and as a resident of this community i have never seen. i don't think many people living in los angeles have ever seen anything like this. this might be as bad or worse than the historic bell air fire in los angeles many of us are familiar with. >> nbc's jacob soboroff, thank you. stay safe. let's go right to meteorologist angie lassman for the latest on those winds in california. any relief on the horizon? >> eventually yes. if our winds are going to weaken, any improvement will help folks there. when you hear jacob talking about the impressive gusts we've

seen overnight into this morning, topping over 130 miles per hour from places like mammoth mountain, even closer to the coast. we have those really impressive winds staying with us, at least through the rest of the day today. we'll see some signs of weakening here as we get into tomorrow and eventually into the weekend. we're not getting rid of the dry conditions. in the meantime we still have this particularly dangerous situation with 19 million people under these red flag warnings up and down the coast there. specifically, watching these three fires that you just heard, of course, jacob talking about, the winds have been quite impressive, not to mention the fact that we've also got a whole lot of particulate matter in the air with the smoke. air quality is going to be really difficult, even for people outside of the zones that are burning. in the meantime we're watching those really strong winds close to 100 miles per hour. we've also got the relative humidity values that are dropping down, bottoming out into the single digits, and on top of that, we have very dry vegetation. we're running way below normal for rainfall since really october 1st.

we're less than 10% across this region. with the winds, the dry vegetation, the dry air in place, no surprise we're going to keep that extreme risk, specifically from santa clarita to malibu. that critical risk is going to last all the way through the day today and extends all the way down to the border of mexico. really dangerous conditions lasting at least through today. improvements later in the week, though. >> angie lassman, thank you so much. a tweet from the vice president kamala harris who, of course, lives and has a home in los angeles. she writes i'm thinking of those impacted by the wildfires in southern california and praying for the first responders who are taking heroic action to help keep communities safe. please listen to local officials, she writes. evacuate immediately if you are told to do so and take care of each other. joining us now, los angeles city council member tracy park. she represents district 11, which includes some of the areas under evacuation orders due to that palisades fire. thank you for being with us. give us the latest.

what are things like right now in your community? >> this is just absolute devastation. it is a dark day here in los angeles, as the sun is beginning to rise. we're beginning to get a sense of the scope and scale of the loss. this is absolutely devastating with the winds, we've been unable to have assets in the air, and so it is going to take some time as day breaks to continue making the assessments. this fire has continued to grow and expand. the evacuation zones and the pacific palisades and the brentwood areas and my council district have continued to grow. new fires have arisen across the city of los angeles. this is absolutely horrific circumstances on the ground. >> it really is. the dry conditions. the 100-mile-per-hour winds,

it's impossible, it's impossible to contain it at this point. miss park, i wonder if you have heard anything about injuries or deaths? i know this is still very much a developing story, but the amount of -- the swath of land that has been covered in here and the videos we're seeing on social media of fire lapping at people's windows and people videotaping it, have there been any reports of injuries? >> we have not -- it's a miracle that we have not had any reports of fatalities. late yesterday we had one report of an injured firefighter, which is a testament to the remarkable and heroic efforts of our partners in the fire service and law enforcement and the work that they did to get folks evacuated, but there were some folks who didn't want to leave,

who didn't comply with the evacuation orders. i am worried to death for what the outcomes are going to reveal as we get a sense of the true scope of the loss and the devastation here in los angeles. >> los angeles city council member tracie park, thank you very much for coming on the show. we'll be following this story as it develops all day on msnbc. joe? back here in washington, chris matthews, president carter lying in state, and leaders from across the world coming to pay their tribute to the 39th president, a man that you knew well and who you worked with and for. tell us your thoughts. >> i was there last night in the capitol in the rotunda. a beautiful setting, if you will, and the casket is there, and you try to bring it all back. it's very hard to bring it back,

a living man, who you knew, as i was his speechwriter, on air force one and occasionally in the oval office, and i have to tell you, you can't cry over this. i mean he lived to be 100. that's about the limit for most people, beyond the limit, and he lived an extraordinary life. he left the white house in his early to mid-50s and lived all these years since. there are people that -- like mike johnson the speaker of the house, said i was 4 years old when this guy was president. 4 years old. he was one of the babies the presidents kiss when they walk by. here he is. and carter lived through all of that. through the turmoil and the disappointment of his administration. he lived through all that. he knew what the inflation and high interest rates did and the hostage taking. i can give you a lot of reasons for the guy. i've been thinking through this so many times. one, he believed in peace. he believed in putting the problems of the country behind him. when he came into office, he

said i'm going to walk down pennsylvania avenue and show the american people i'm not afraid of them. presidents should be afraid of some people out in the country who are dangerous people. some of them. he also said, i'm going to thank jerry ford thanked him openly. he pardoned all the vietnam resistors. it's over. we're going to let these people come back to america from canada and elsewhere and end this debate right now. i'm pardoning them. that's the end of it. he went to the egyptians who fought four wars with israel, all those wars were really launched by egypt. he said i'm going to end those wars, and no more wars since. no more arab wars. >> there were so many times when camp david was about to break apart, and it was jimmy carter that kept them together and also jimmy carter who at the same time normalized relations with

china and created the world that we live in now, the world of globalization. >> and negotiated the panama canal treaty. >> again, end the war with the potential threat of latin american terrorism and we'll see what comes now with trump. there's a moment during that. he took the anwar sadat up to gettysburg -- it's not far away from camp david -- and wanted to show them about our battle. battles can end. we can end these fights. one of the amazing things, he said all the guys coming from egypt were all military people because it was a military regime. a good one, but a military region. come up as a terrorist fighter for israel in the beginning in '48. didn't know anything about this military history. when they got to the place where lincoln gave the gettysburg address, out of nowhere this little guy quoted every word of the gettysburg address out loud. he started reciting it to all these generals and everybody else there and carter says i get choked up just thinking about

that, that moment where this little guy who made a point of memorizing one of our greatest speeches. again, it was peace. he tried to find peace with iron and the hostage crisis. i think he made one mistake. he made the hostages the most important thing in the world, not the issue of ridiculing the united states and burning our flag and trooping them around with blindfolds on. he said they're the most important people here i'm going to get them back alive and to do that he never went to war. >> he sacrificed his presidency by not going to war. >> right. >> those hostages came home. >> all of them. >> alive. >> yeah. >> every last one. and he didn't have to trade arms to do it. he negotiated and it finally got done. chris matthew, thank you so much. susan paige, thank you as well. we'll be right back with another update on the severe wildfires that are raging across

southern california right now. 0% contained. it is a dangerous situation. we're back in two minutes. we're back in two minutes. ♪♪ so, this year, you can say... ♪you did it!♪

welcome back. we continue to track the uncontrolled wildfires burning this morning in southern california. at this moment, more than 80,000 residents are under a mandatory evacuation order. let's bring in nbc news meteorologist dylan dreyer, which we do have other things to talk about and we will, but what's your assessment as to where this stands, especially given the dry conditions and these massive winds? >> i'm actually heading out there right after here. i'm going to fly out there. it's just one of those situations where you get the reports and you see that all three of the big fires right now are 0% contained -- >> that -- i've never had that. >> the helicopters can't fly. the fire crews can't get out there from the air to attack it from the sky because the winds are gusting up to 50, up to 60,

120 miles per hour. >> everything is so dry. even a spec can -- >> one spark goes over here, the wind shifts, it switches directions. the firefighters have to be careful the way they tackle this. unfortunately, it's in such a urban area. these homes are directly impacted and one home after another is just going down. >> so at this point the weather in the area, is the wind supposed to subside? >> rain would help the most to actually just put out the fires. there is no rain in the forecast. you need weaker winds so they don't spread as quickly. they will die down, but instead of 100 mile per hour winds we're talking 30 or 40. they're less, but still not enough to really help the situation. >> absolutely. jonathan. >> there doesn't seem to be any real long-term change in the forecast coming. >> right. >> they'll be grappling with these conditions for the future.

>> it hasn't rained since october. we haven't had significant rain to help with the conditions. used to be a fire season in california and you would brace for that, but now it's kind of year-round. >> we're going to stay on this all day on msnbc as this develops. obviously, still a fast-developing situation with it being 0% contained. while you are here, i watch you on the "today" show and follow you on instagram with your boys. you have so many kids. >> so many kids. >> seems like there's 20, but there's only 3. >> they're boys. >> you have this lovely book series. >> this is actually the fifth book. our misty the cloud book series but the is a little bit different. aimed more towards babies. >> guys, it's like these. remember when you were reading books. >> flap books. >> you lift the flap. you're not on an ipad. you're actually touching and opening and discovering something. >> exactly. >> this one is not doing it for me. >> the brand new ones are hard to lift that flap.

as i've had 100 kids, i've realized lift the flap books engage them. these are sturdy flaps. they will try to rip them off. >> your boys would rip them off. >> i have so many lift the flap books without the flap. on the "today" show i say here's a peek out your window. here's the combination if that peek was opening curtains or blinds and introducing kids to looking outside the window. the first thing you should do in the morning peek out the window, it helps you get dressed and helps you with your day. >> instead of reaching for a phone or ipad. >> or popping on the tv. take a pause, peek out your window. this gives kids the terms, whether it's rainy or snowy, i caught my 3-year-old on the couch just flipping through it lifting the flap and going brr. >> i think your kids are a little too old but maybe. >> they're 10 and 13. we had a series we used to do. not only just engaging with the

outside, it's important because open the window, what's the weather, the next step go out there. >> we look at rain a little bit differently. i look at rain i don't want to walk the dog. kids look at rain as a chance to splash in the puddle. let them embrace the joy of weather. there are scary weather conditions out there, but day to day, the weather should be enjoyed. >> the plan net should be enjoyed and loved. >> the new book "peek out your window" is on sale. "new york times" best-selling author, nbc news meteorologist and co-host of the third hour of "today" dylan dreyer. does she ever sleep? this is what i want to know. >> not with those kids. >> you do the cooking show with call. >> there's a lot going on. >> insta stalking you. >> that does it for us this morning. ana cabrera picks up the coverage after a quick break. he coverage after a quick break ooh! booking.com booking.yeah

shopify's point of sale system helps you sell at every stage of your business. with fast and secure payment. card readers you can rely on. and one place to manage it all. whatever the stage, businesses that grow grow with shopify.

(auctioneer) let's start the bidding at 5 million dollars. (man) robinhood gold members get a 3% ira match. while the wealthy hoard their perks, our retirement contributions are boosted by 3%. now with robinhood gold.

>>ea