bye, curtis. bye. take care of yourself, man. lester holt (voiceover): as i wrote in the journal i kept, "it's too easy to look away from prison and prisoners. dignity is earned, but hope is essential." and that's all for this edition of "dateline." i'm craig melvin. thank you for watching. >> good morning, and welcome to this sunday edition of. >> morning joe. weekend. >> it was another fast moving. >> news week. >> here are some of the.

>> conversations you. >> might have missed. >> as democrats continue. >> to. >> assess what went wrong for them in the 2024 elections. the march. issue of the new republic. >> is analyzing the hard road ahead for. >> the party. >> let's bring in the. >> editor of the new republic. >> michael tomasky. >> his piece. >> in the new. >> issue. >> which is posted. >> online today. >> is titled three big lessons for the democrats. >> and we want to hear what those are. >> also with us. >> the president and ceo of the naacp, derrick johnson, and. the co-founder and ceo of. >> all in together. >> lauren leder. it's good to have all of you on. >> board this hour. >> so, michael. >> let's start with your piece and the three. big lessons. and i want to. >> ask what. >> those lessons are. but are. >> those lessons applicable to the. >> environment that we are going to be in in the weeks and months ahead? >> i think. >> they are. >> i think the democrats have to

make them applicable because this is these are the questions that i think they need to ask. look, i say in the piece, mika, you know, this isn't 1989 all over again. they haven't had three candidates lose landslides in a row. they lost one election by a point and a half. nevertheless, they lost. that's not winning. so they do have to ask some questions. >> my three. >> prescriptive points have to do with the economy, with the way they deal with cultural politics at presidential election time, and third, with the way their brand has been, quite frankly, destroyed in large swaths of the country where they used to be able to get votes and elect senators and can't anymore. so those are the main points. >> you also. have really. >> interesting analysis. on the ad that a lot of people really hurt kamala harris's chances in this past election. and it was the. >> ad. where she's answering the question. >> about transgender surgeries.

>> can you. >> tell. >> us about the this was the. >> conversation she. >> had. >> with a reporter back in 2019. >> can you. >> give. >> her give us. >> larger context of that conversation and what you. >> found out? >> sure. not a reporter. a leader. of a of an important transgender organization. her name was mara. mara kiesling. in 2019, she interviewed all of the major democratic contenders. you'll remember. there were quite a lot of them at the time. >> and that's. >> the interview. it's about a six minute interview. it's not that long from which the trump campaign picked that clip. that showed harris saying, you know, she did what she did for the sake of the movement and the agenda and so on. i interviewed mara about this in december. i found her to be very forthright and absolutely correct. i think she chafed a little bit at the perception that she may have goaded harris into saying those

things that she said about getting the state of california to change its policy on gender affirming surgery for transgender patients or prisoners. she didn't do that at all. i watched the video. anybody can watch the video. the only question mark kiesling asked is why should transgender people vote for you? and harris went on this whole long thing. so that's one interesting thing that she said. another interesting thing that she said to me is that she really does think that progressive groups, not just lgbt, lgbtq groups, but all sorts of progressive groups, need to change the way they think about how they do politics at presidential election time. that it's probably not the best idea to try to pin people down to a bunch of litmus test positions that can potentially be used against them in a general election campaign, as indeed some of harris's 2019 primary era positions were. so she had a lot of interesting things to say that i think are

worth listening to. >> lauren, later. >> i just want. >> to get you to chime. >> in on this as democrats move forward, because there's so many. challenges now. for communities that are. >> feeling the heat. die being, you know, wiped clean. from many agencies and even companies. >> how should i mean, do you agree. >> with michael. that this maybe it's for another day? or how do you manage. through these issues? >> you know, i think one of the. >> lessons which i was going to. ask michael about that we took away. >> from this election, when you think about the senate races, i mean, you referenced michael, the senate. >> races, but what we saw. >> was a huge. >> gap between voters who voted for democratic. >> senators in. >> michigan. for instance, and. >> elsewhere. >> and then didn't vote for. kamala harris. and i. >> think there's some very interesting lessons. >> there. >> potentially. >> for why some of those democrats, especially in, you know, the rust. belt states broke through, won their races even as the national candidate

didn't. >> so what. >> do you take. >> away from that? i'm not sure they were. you know, they did some dramatically different strategy in terms of dealing with social issues. >> they certainly. >> talked about abortion rights. they talked about, you know, sort of an inclusive view of america. but somehow kamala got tarred with those social issues in a very different way. >> than the senate. >> candidates did. >> she did. you know, a lot of it did have to do with that ad. and look, i want to be clear here, you know, transgender people are under assault right now in the united states. undocumented people are under assault right now in the united states. these groups do really important work most of the time, and they should be supported, and democrats should support the work they do. it's just this one thing i'm talking about at presidential election time with respect to kamala, i think it was just that she wasn't as well known, and she was only the candidate for 107 days, and she didn't have a chance to make a full picture of herself in the way that some of these senate candidates did. and they were

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and their sensations. to get started today at sitter city. >> donald trump. >> is defending. >> the mass firings of federal watchdogs. >> our federal government. >> now can discriminate against the. citizens of the country. >> we are all watching. >> and waiting to see who is going to. >> hold the line. don't miss the weekend, saturday and sunday mornings at. >> 8:00 on msnbc. >> steve, the latest. inflation data. >> shows consumer. prices rose. >> more than anticipated. >> last month. raising questions about the. >> future direction. >> of interest rates. you have.

charts on this. >> take it away. >> yeah. >> mika, we've been expecting inflation to continue to kind of moderate, ease down. provide more. room for the federal reserve to cut interest rates and give. >> relief, of course. >> to consumers. >> as well. >> from rising prices. but last month we didn't we didn't quite get that it wasn't a disaster, but it wasn't what we hoped for. consumer prices actually rose, and we look at consumer prices as, you know, two ways. one. >> all of them. >> and the other, when you take out food and energy, what we call core, which is this blue line right here. and core is running now at about 3.3%. it's gone up for four months in a row. >> it is the. >> highest it's been in over a year. and so the moderating trend that we've. >> seen for so. long seems. >> to have abated for now. and this is not lost on consumers. and this is very important because what consumers expect actually plays a meaningful role in what actually happens in inflation. and you can see here consumers were expecting that when they look ahead a year,

they expect that higher inflation. and then they expect that inflation to come down down down down down. and look what's happened here. consumer expectations for inflation have shot up. and consumers now expect inflation could be as high as 4.3% over the coming year. and again, that has a self-reinforcing quality. and so that makes it a tougher as well for the fed to bring down inflation. >> so steve. >> another thing that. >> impacts consumers. >> is interest rates. >> what's the market saying. >> yeah. so when you have more inflation it pushes up interest rates because people expect to get a return on their money. the federal reserve controls what we call shorter term interest rates. this is the federal reserve's interest rate. and you can see they've cut it a couple of times. but what's also happened is the ten year treasury, the yield on the ten year treasury has gone up and up and up here since, really since the election. there are really three things in the trump policies that are worrisome inflation for inflation. number one, of course, are tariffs. we've talked a lot about tariffs

and how they affect prices and paid for by consumers. that hasn't taken effect yet but that's a drag on inflation. a bad thing for inflation. the second thing is immigration. we've benefited from a lot of workers coming into the workforce, which has kept wage increases down a little bit lower than they might have been and helped provide economic growth that may be coming to an end. and the third thing is that yesterday the house republicans unveiled their budget plan. they want to have massive tax cuts. they want to increase the spending, defense spending. and they have some vague ideas about cutting other spending, which they didn't detail. but on present course and speed, we're going to get a substantial increase in the deficit out of what's going on in washington. and that's inflationary because it makes the economy grow faster and the faster it grows above its potential, the more inflation you get. so all of that has led the market to predict interest rates to remain higher for longer. if you go back to even before the election, we thought the federal reserve would have the interest.

its interest rate down to 3.7%. we're now looking at basically no more interest cuts this year, maybe one cut in december. and so interest rates stalling out is not a good thing for the economy and especially for mortgage holders, because the 30 year mortgage is stuck up here close to 7%. >> well okay. >> and finally. >> i guess the penny is not. >> so lucky. costly to make the penny a. >> penny for your thoughts. >> well, it could be lucky to hold because maybe there won't be so many anymore. right. so, so, so interestingly, the cost of making coins has shot up over the years. inflation, the cost of the metals that go into them, and so forth. and one of the ones that's gone up the most is the penny. and it now costs 3.7 cents to make every penny. so the treasury loses money on every penny it makes. it actually also loses money on the nickel, which costs 13.8 cents. and it makes some amount of money on the quarter and the dime. and so they've announced

and this is long overdue. i mean, you have to give credit where credit's due. the trump administration has actually made a good policy decision. maybe it's the only one, but they've made one, which is to eliminate the penny. save some money. and also consumers don't really use pennies that much. as you can see over here, they really don't use coins at all anymore, as much anymore. we've all gone electronic. and so usage of all these coins, production of all these coins has been going down, down, down. and yeah, when you eliminate the penny, the fear is that stores will will round the prices up instead of down a little bit of extra cost. but you know, australia, canada, all those other places that we think of as behind us are actually way ahead of us when it comes to eliminating the penny, because they did it years ago. >> all right. let's pull back to the big. >> picture about the economy. steve, i want to get your take on a. few editorials. >> the wall. >> street journal. >> editorial board. >> writes this morning about trumponomics. >> and rising inflation. >> it reads. >> in part. this does. >> president trump. understand money?

>> not money as in. >> cash. >> but the. supply of money, the. >> price of money as measured by interest. >> rates and their impact on inflation? >> the answer would. >> appear to be no. after mr. trump called. >> for lower interest rates on. >> wednesday. >> the same day the labor department reported. >> an increase in. >> inflation for the third straight month. >> perhaps the president. >> wants the. >> public to look elsewhere. when assigning blame for rising prices. as a political matter. an inflation. revival may be the biggest threat to. >> the. >> trump presidency. mr. trump. >> was elected. >> as voters reacted. >> to. inflation and. falling incomes. >> under joe biden. >> real average earnings. >> are flat. >> over the last three months. >> as inflation. >> has bounced up. >> if this persists, mr. >> trump won't have. >> a. 53% job. approval rating for long. and then. >> this from republican senator mitch mcconnell. he is a. piece

this morning for the courier. >> courier journal. >> entitled kentuckians can't afford the high cost of trump's tariffs. >> the former. >> majority leader writes in part this. >> quote, no. matter our best intentions. tariffs are. bad policy. >> blanket tariffs. make it more expensive to. >> do. business in america. >> driving up costs for. >> consumers across. the board. these aren't. >> just abstract concerns. >> broad based. >> tariffs could have. >> long term consequences, right? in our backyard. in kentucky. local store. >> owners are. >> already hearing about their suppliers. >> prices going up. >> one estimate suggests. >> the. >> president's tariffs could cost the average kentuckian up to $1,200 each. >> year. >> preserving the long term prosperity of american industry and workers. >> requires working with our allies, not against them. >> trade wars with our partners. hurt working. >> people most. and the president. >> has better. tools to protect.

>> american workers without forcing our. >> families and businesses. >> to absorb. >> higher costs. >> steve rattner, i'd love for you to respond. >> to those two editorials. and. you know, i think it's. >> safe to. >> say that joe biden left. >> an economy. >> that was moving in the right. >> direction, was it not? >> yeah. and this is the interesting, interesting thing for trump. joe biden did leave an economy moving in the right direction, but there was still work to do. the deficit is high, inflation is high. real incomes are rising a bit, contrary to what mitch mcconnell said, but nonetheless not at a rate that we want. and so unlike when trump came in 2016 when we had very, very low inflation, he's got work to do. and the work, as i said, is in conflict with his the policies he's espoused so far, particularly particularly the tariffs. you know, i need to put a new roof on my house. and the guy said to me, you better order these right now, because when those tariffs go into effect, cost is going to go up 25% of those materials because those shingles all come from

canada. so that's what we're looking at. but there are a couple of interesting conundrums here because first, trump is an easy money guy. real estate guys are easy money guys they like. and they need low interest rates to finance their buildings. that's a large part of how they make money. and trump doesn't really understand economic policy and monetary policy. and so he thinks the fed should keep interest rates lower. he jawboned the fed back during his first term. he has threatened to fire jay powell on many occasions and so forth. and you have that in conflict with with what's going on in the hill where they're talking about larger budget deficits. well, not talking about them. they're talking about cutting the budget deficit. but everything they're saying is pointing to larger budget deficits rather than smaller ones. and then, as i said earlier, the impact of less immigration on our labor force and what that's going to do to prices. so the journal is write, mitch mcconnell is right. the trump administration keeps talking about bringing down prices. he promised during the campaign to bring them down on

day one. and now they've got a set of policies that actually are certainly not going to make it better and arguably could make it worse. >> morning joe economic. >> analyst steve rattner. >> thank you. coming up. >> senator elizabeth. >> warren will join us to. >> share her thoughts. >> about how president. trump is attempting to reshape the government. >> that's straight ahead on morning. morning. >> joe weekend. my moderate to severe crohn's disease... ...and my ulcerative colitis symptoms... ...kept me... ...out of the picture. now... ...there's skyrizi. ♪i've got places to go...♪ ♪...and i'm feeling free♪ ♪control of my symptoms means everything...♪ ♪...to me♪ ♪control is everything to me♪ and now... ...i'm back in the picture. feel significant symptom relief at... ...4 weeks with skyrizi. skyrizi is proven to help deliver remission... ...and help visibly improve damage.... ...of the intestinal lining at 12 weeks and 1 year. don't use if allergic. serious allergic reactions,... ...increased infections or lower ability to fight them may occur.

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us. >> now on set democratic senator. elizabeth warren of massachusetts. she's a member of the senate finance and armed services committee. >> senator, it's. >> nice to have. >> you with us in the studio. >> you've got. >> a busy day. i know. >> powell is testifying on the. >> hill. >> later. >> but i do want to first get your reaction to the tariffs from the trump administration. i mentioned it's a continuation of something he was trying to do in 2018. but what's the impact on american consumers and. >> what's what's. >> it what's it. >> a negotiating. >> tactic for. >> this time. >> that's the question. >> what is the actual intent here? >> what is. >> he trying to do? >> look i think. >> tariffs can be a very effective tool when they're targeted and when we know what the goal is. so for example, if. >> we're trying to. protect an emerging industry. >> here in the. united states, if we're trying to. bring back more supply chains, which help. >> make. >> us stronger here in the us. makes perfect sense. but just an announcement of a big tariff and no obvious why are you doing

this? what is the goal? who are you trying to protect? what part of the american economy are you trying to help? and so far, there's just nothing from president trump. >> i think. >> a. >> lot of those questions. >> can also be applied. >> to the agency that you conceptualize, the consumer. >> financial protection bureau. and the way that there are efforts. >> now to. >> shut it down. >> can you. talk about your. >> reaction to that? >> but then also, i know you did. >> you. >> build in any. failsafes predicting that something like this. >> could happen? >> so let's start with where we are. >> in this moment. remember. >> donald trump. ran for office. saying he would lower prices for american consumers. >> he was. >> going to cut costs. >> he said he would. >> do it on day one. he said right. >> after the. >> election that he. was elected on groceries. >> that he was going to bring. >> down prices. instead of doing that, he's turned around and he's actually cutting the parts of government that help bring down costs for. american families. and the consumer

financial protection bureau is the perfect example. remember, it was put in place right after the big financial crash because these giant banks. >> had cheated people. so in the dozen years. >> that the consumer agency has been there, it has forced those big financial institutions to return more than $21. >> billion. >> that they. >> had cheated. >> american families out of. and to give that money back to those families, that's cutting costs for families. and right now, what donald trump has said is, nah, just sideline all those cops. let any giant bank that wants to cheat you on a credit card or a mortgage or a car loan, just have open season on american consumers. that's not going to cut costs. that's going to raise costs for families. >> you know. >> senator joe scarborough here. so great to have you with us. i don't want to oversimplify the election results because you've been around long enough, and

i've been around long, long enough to know that at 1% or 1.5%, swing would have changed things entirely. so i'm not i'm not going to be here to. >> say. >> oh, democrats have gotten everything wrong. and to that point, kamala harris may have lost the battleground states, but tammy baldwin, a lesbian legislator, won wisconsin. and you had a woman winning michigan. you had a progressive hispanic winning arizona. you had a female legislator winning nevada. so it's not all black and white. i mean, democrats did very well in other parts of swing states, too. that said, that's all a really big wind up for this question. how in the world do billionaires gut agencies that are meant to protect working. class americans? how do billionaires.

raise tax cuts for billionaires and brag that they're raising tax cuts for billionaires and gut spending to protect working class americans? and how do democrats lose any elections among working class voters? maybe you have an answer that the rest of us do not have, but is does that not just seem crazy on the surface of it? >> so let's take a look at elon musk. he spent $288 million. >> to get. >> donald trump elected. that's a lot of money and a lot of ads. and believe me, they didn't talk about in those ads raising taxes on billionaires. they talked about cutting costs for american families. >> so now elon. >> musk has shown up and said he's ready to collect on his investment. here's one way. >> that he may be. >> trying to collect on that investment. >> you know. >> x formerly twitter, lost money hand over fist. elon musk

has a new. >> plan and. >> that is x money. that is that. he's going to be out there in everybody's financial life. he faces one problem though, and that is the financial cop. >> on the beat. >> the cfpb that stands behind him looks over his shoulder and says. >> you can't cheat people. >> you can't trick people and. >> you can't suck. >> up their personal financial data or any personal data and use it just for yourself or sell it to anyone. >> you. >> want to. so what's elon musk doing? well, just a little bit ahead of launching his product. >> he says, let's. >> shut down the consumer financial protection bureau. let's take those financial cops off the beat. it is a little like. a bank robber saying. i know what let's do. let's fire the cops, turn off the alarms. just as the bank robber decides to stroll into. >> the lobby of the bank. i

think that people are beginning to tumble. >> to what elon musk is up to, and i think this is going to be one of the places where the rubber is going to hit the road. on whether or not. elon musk runs this country, or we're going to pull this back and have a democracy that actually works for the american people. >> all right. democratic senator elizabeth. >> warren of massachusetts, as always, thank you so much. i really appreciate it. >> coming up, we'll be joined by president obama's. >> former deputy. >> national security advisor, ben. >> rhodes, who says. >> president trump's policies so. >> far aren't necessarily what. >> he promised. >> on the campaign trail, arguing, quote, this isn't. >> the donald. >> trump america elected. >> morning joe will be back after a. after a. >> quick break. if you have heart failure or chronic kidney disease, farxiga can help you keep living life, because there are places you'd like to be. (♪♪)

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>> need a. >> katrina level. >> type of response. >> that is rebuilding. to make sure it won't happen again? you've obviously. >> made a. >> decision to resign. are there any lessons that can be learned. >> as you're talking. >> to members of your congregation, what do you. tell them about how to stand up for their own moral. >> beliefs. >> but. >> still find grace. >> in this moment? >> let's bring into the conversation contributing opinion writer. >> for. >> the new york times, ben rhodes. he served as deputy national. security advisor. under president barack obama. and your guest essay. >> ben, for the times. >> is entitled, this. isn't the donald trump america elected. and you write in part this many americans, myself included, support. >> overhauling the sclerotic national security consensus that has governed our policies since september 11th, 2001. yet it

would be wrong to dismiss. >> mr. trump's. >> dizzying array of pronouncements and executive actions on foreign policy as simply the fulfillment. >> of. >> his campaign promises. he did not run on the dismantling of usaid, the. conquest of greenland, or the occupation of gaza. rather than showing strength, his foreign policy betrays a loss of american self-confidence and self-respect. eliminating any pretense that the united states stands for the things it has claimed to support since fighting two world wars. freedom, self-determination, and collective security. in many ways, mr. trump cuts a more familiar picture from history an aging strongman musing about territorial expansion to consolidate power and cement his legacy. and, joe, you know, i'll let you take it to ben, but, you

know, he is using issues. i think that on the surface at least run quite well politically with the right foreign aid, government waste, immigration, even tariffs and die. these are in some ways winning issues on the right and do apply to his campaign promises. >> right. >> i think and ben, you point this out in part. some of it is the way he's going about doing it. obviously real concerns with that, with what elon musk is, is doing. but i'll follow up with you. the question that i asked peter baker, which is when you talk about gaza, when you talk about greenland, when you talk about the panama canal, when you talk about canada, these, these, these actually run counter to the sort of america first foreign policy approach. he's always he's always preached on the campaign trail and in

interviews. doesn't it. yeah, absolutely. >> and look, this. >> was not. >> just a series. >> of accidents either, joe. i mean, this is a man who, in his scripted inaugural address, said this was going to. >> be an era of. >> quote, territorial expansion. >> this is clearly something he's. >> been thinking about. and the couple of things. that jumped out to me. >> are, first. >> of all, this point that if you look. >> at other autocrats. >> around the world throughout all of human history, including in recent years. >> when. >> you look at, say, vladimir. >> putin in ukraine, or how. >> xi jinping is eyeing taiwan ever. >> more closely as he ages a. >> bit. >> you. >> know, there's this idea that. >> a real. >> legacy comes with more territory. that's not a new concept. >> it both helps you. >> consolidate power at home. >> it stirs. >> up nationalism. you get. >> a bit of a sugar high. >> and it. >> also is something that you. >> know. >> you can. associate yourself with going forward. >> i also make the point, though, that this is hardly strength here, joe. >> this is like a. >> bully in the. >> schoolyard looking. >> around for someone small to push around. >> you know, so far. >> we've had greenland and

denmark. we've had canada and mexico. >> we had the brief spat. >> with colombia. these are. >> not people in. >> the united states as weight class when it comes to great. >> power conflict. >> so there's something even more. unsettling about it, because. >> this is. >> not. superpower behavior. >> this is autocratic behavior. and it's frankly kind of declining superpower. behavior to be looking for. >> someone kind of smaller. to push around like this. well, i'm curious because i read read some essays on it since president trump began speaking this way. and i'm wondering if you agree that this may be a sort of signaling to china, a signaling to russia that we're moving beyond the post war? post 1945 world order, and instead he's talking about a sort of strongman sphere of influence, where the united states basically controls its sphere of influence. russia takes ukraine,

controls its sphere of influence, china takes taiwan and controls its sphere of influence. is that what? is that what you believe is happening? and how do you think that will play with republicans in congress who, as you know, during his first term, pushed back mightily when he thought when they thought that he was being he was yielding too much to vladimir putin. yeah. i think you're exactly right. and actually, i think this. >> is the. >> great danger. >> of the situation because. >> look, there's this scenario someone. >> could be watching this and say, oh, he's just leveraging and negotiations, you know, less fees for u.s. ships going to the. panama canal or. >> you know, canadian. >> concessions on certain trade. >> issues. >> or maybe even just greenland, giving us. >> access to more bases and mineral rights. first of all, none of those. >> things. >> joe. are kind of what americans. >> said they were voting for. you know. >> thank god we finally are. lowering the fees at the panama

canal. but put that aside. it doesn't actually diminish the danger of what he's doing, because the norm. and i know that that's an out-of-date word, but the norm that he is essentially just erasing is state sovereignty. he's saying, i don't care. >> what people in. >> denmark, in greenland say, i want greenland. the canada thing i take less seriously, but it's not that funny if you're canadian, to have. >> someone joking about you no longer being a country. >> i mean, panama, this is core to their identity. getting the canal back. and he is erasing state sovereignty at a time. when that is not only the cornerstone. >> stone of any world order. it is eroding already. vladimir putin. >> has done the same thing in ukraine. >> you know. >> china wants to do the same thing. >> in taiwan. >> say, i don't care where the borders are drawn. i don't care what the international rules say. if you're a big country. >> you can do whatever you want. >> and i think. trump is sending. >> this message. hey, look, you know. >> we're back in the days of. >> the pre-world. >> war one where. the us dominates this hemisphere and we can do what we want in panama. and. >> you. >> know, greenland is close by. and canada better listen to us,

too. he's sending the same message to vladimir putin. loves that message. his message was always to the united states, the former soviet union. that's my sphere of influence. stay out. taiwan. china's message to taiwan. >> is. >> you know, stay out of this part of. >> east asia. this is ours. and so. i think. >> he is embracing a kind of nationalist. >> strongman politics. >> that, again, can make for good short term. >> you know. >> nationalism and political nationalism in the country. but it's what literally led to world wars in the past. and at a minimum, i think it's going to lead the. >> rest of the. >> world to kind of align against. >> this type of behavior. >> from the united. states and the republican party. i just don't see it, joe, right now, coming from the congress, i think what it's going to have to happen is we're going to have to break this spell on people. >> a bit, that that you can't oppose trump. >> on anything. foundational to what he's saying. because i. >> think there's. >> people who know better in congress. see where this is going and see that it's not just. >> about usaid. >> it's about what is america in the world? >> ben. >> hi, it's peter baker.

>> i wonder if you could go a little further on what you think of ukraine, because i think actually in ukraine is one area where he has sort of kept to the more isolationist view of his party. why should we be spending money on somebody else's war? let's not, you know, invest any more in their arms. there's talk that president trump will have a conversation with president putin sometime. >> in coming days. >> lenski, i think, is in munich, where vice president pence is. what do you see happening there and what are the implications if he tries to force an end of the war on terms that are more favorable to the kremlin? >> i mean, thus far, i think. people are waiting for some shoe to drop. we have not seen a withdrawal of assistance. we have not seen any significant change in american behavior. with respect to ukraine. it may be, and. >> i think there's a lot of hope. you talk to people in. >> europe, peter, as i do, that trump might actually escalate a little bit here to try to push things into a negotiation. so for the time being, the idea that the us is kind of a guarantor in those.

>> talks for. >> ukraine, we're kind of standing behind them saying, make sure that, you know, to the kremlin, make. >> sure that the deal you give. >> these guys can at least pass muster, can at least get the ukrainians to say, yes, that's still holding. again, my concern is the impact that trump is having, not just on foreign policy, but on politics itself inside of the west, because the united states, even if he's saying that the table, the kremlin, vladimir putin knows we're not going to be giving ukraine assistance in two years. >> three. >> years or four years. and in europe, trump is a very disruptive force. and you see the rise of these far right parties like the afd in germany that elon musk is boosting, who could care less. >> about ukraine. >> some of whom are actively hostile to ukraine. people like viktor orban, his closest ally in europe, trump's closest ally, has been. >> pretty much. >> friendly to putin's agenda. when it comes to ukraine. >> so even. >> if we're saying the right things, peter, i just worry where this. politics is going. it's not a place in which ukraine can feel that assured. in commitments from europe and the united. >> states. >> for sure. and, ashley, before

you go, other things you're looking at or. >> sort of. >> a narrative that we have here on the show. what is the signal versus the noise? yesterday, president trump wanted it to be called gulf of america day. was it gulf of america day. so that i would put as more of the noise, sort of. he was trying to do, frankly, his own super bowl sunday stunt. he had already mentioned in, in his scripted inauguration speech that he wants to rename it as the gulf of america. he then, in his first flurry of executive orders, signed an executive order renaming it or saying he wants it renamed the gulf of america. that's not unilaterally quite in his control. so sort of he's he's made his point. he's messaged it. he's branded it as a showman. but he knows he's he has this opportunity. he's getting on air force one at his private mar a lago club. it is going to fly over the gulf of

mexico. gulf of america on its on its way to the super bowl. and he could not resist bringing the press into the front cabin to sign a proclamation, making it gulf of. america day. i think most people still remember it as super bowl sunday. >> up next, according to the washington post, the next oscar winner for best actress could be hiding in plain sight. they're talking about our next guest, fernanda torres. she joins us with a look at her acclaimed film, i'm still here. when morning joe weekend comes right morning joe weekend comes right back. have you always had trouble with your weight? same. discover the power of wegovy®. with wegovy®, i lost 35 pounds. and some lost over 46 pounds. and i'm keeping the weight off. i'm reducing my risk. wegovy® is the only weight-management medicine proven to reduce risk of major cardiovascular events such as death, heart attack, or stroke in adults with known heart disease and obesity.

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as long as they're the best. eggland's best. guests explore how the democratic party is facing this political moment and where it's headed next. the blueprint with jen psaki. listen now. and new. critically acclaimed film is. showing the devastating. >> consequences of brazil's former military. dictatorship that lasted. >> nearly two decades. >> i'm still. >> here focuses. >> on the family of a former brazilian congressman who was kidnaped, and is based on the memoir of that lawmaker's son.

>> the film has. >> earned three academy. >> award nominations. >> including for. >> best picture and for actress. >> in a leading role. for our next guest. >> keir. >> cech says getting. married to. my mother. sci fi horror sci. >> and joining. >> us now the. >> star of i'm still here, oscar. nominated actress fernanda torres. >> she also. >> won. the golden globe. >> last. >> month for. >> her role in. >> the film. >> so let's start by. >> saying thank you for being here and also congratulations. >> thank you. thank you for having me.

>> it is our pleasure. >> on the congrats on the award. the nominations. >> let's just start there. >> what is that that moment been like to receive such acclaim and recognition for this role? >> it's like. >> a miracle. >> because, you know, it's a film spoken in portuguese, a small film compared to the other ones. and i think it says a lot about. the power of this story and how people, as soon as they see it, they watch it, they get like touched by. this family, this woman and the story. >> so that connection that you're speaking about talk. what was. >> it like. >> for you? what was that connection for you? what drew you to the role? >> how could you refuse? i mean, it was walter salles, the same director that i did foreign land. he did central station with my mother. and then now again. and this story, because it's the story of the kidnaping and the torture of a congressman in the 70s that were never spoken about. it was like.

>> a. >> pale photograph that were being forgotten. and then suddenly his son writes the story, and it's a book which the film is based on, that where this boy discovered that the great heroine of the family is his mother. and it's a story about endurance, about hope, and a very special story for the crisis we are dealing nowadays, i think. so that's why the film got so much attention. >> yeah. >> the book obviously. >> had a lot of impact. the movie now is, well, what are you hearing as people come. to you. >> from. >> from, from brazil. >> who are saying. >> the how. >> this film has made. >> them feel. >> seeing this. >> play out on screen? >> oh. >> in brazil it was a phenomenon because people start to go to the movie theaters like they were not going anymore, and people from the left wing, right wing, center, and they all had. because as the film is centered in the family everybody can relate to, if you are young, you

can relate to the children. if you are a mother, if you are a father. and it's a film very important now because young people are being introduced to, what does it really mean to live in a dictatorship through this film? so it was a film that connected, i think, from brazil, from the binary ideology that all you are in the side or the other one, and they bond together. and now with what is happening with the movie, people are just going nuts and the oscars is going to happen, happen during carnival. so it's. >> so you mentioned your mother. >> yeah. >> and we should note that you're the second brazilian actress to be nominated for academy award in the category of leading leading actress. the other? >> your mother. >> it's my mother who is, you know. >> some years ago. >> talk to us about what is that. >> like. >> to have that. >> achievement for your family? >> it's again unbelievable. i would never thought it would

happen. and again, the illness, the character portrait in the in the movie, she raised marcelo rubens paiva. who is this writer who wrote this book? a very famous writer in brazil. and my mother raised me. so the film has also this symbology about transmission, about art enduring through time. so, of course, for me and my mother, it's so beautiful. i mean, and in brazil, we have this phenomenon that it's fernanda, me, fernanda, my mother, and the fernandes. >> fernanda montenegro, your your mother. and also. by receiving these nominations. >> in films. >> done by the same director. >> yeah. can you imagine it just. this is such a beautiful tale that i'm really happy, grateful, and i don't know. >> well, the movie is. >> certainly breaking. >> through. >> and the academy awards. >> are coming. >> up soon. the new movie, i'm still here is indeed currently playing nationwide in the us and canada. academy award nominated.

>> actress fernando torres. >> thank you and good luck next month. >> thank you very much. >> don't go away. >> we have a second hour of morning joe weekend on this sunday morning, coming up. right sunday morning, coming up. right after the break. here's to getting better with age. here's to beating these two every thursday. help fuel today with boost high protein, complete nutrition you need, and the flavor you love. so, here's to now... now available: boost max! mom where's my homework? mommy! hey hun - sometimes, you just need a moment. self-care has never been this easy. gummy vitamins from nature made, the #1 pharmacist recommended vitamin and supplement brand. most people don't realize how processed typical dog food is. at the farmer's dog, we believe dogs should be able to get their daily nutrition without the excess processing. ♪♪

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pills. connect with a medical provider at sparks. >> welcome back to morning joe weekend. we have lots to get to this hour, so let's dive back in. the top federal prosecutor in new york. has resigned after.

>> she refused. >> to follow a justice department order to drop the corruption charges against new york mayor eric adams. acting u.s. attorney for the southern district of new york danielle sassoon announced her resignation in a brief statement to colleagues. according to a senior official. sassoon appealed wednesday to attorney general pam bondi and expressed her alarm at being ordered to drop the case, according to a blistering letter obtained by nbc news. she wrote that she attended a meeting on january 31st with emil bove, the acting u.s. deputy attorney general. adams, attorney, and members of her office, quote, adams attorneys repeatedly urged what amounted to a quid pro quo, indicating that adams would be in a position to assist with the department's enforcement priorities only if the indictment were dismissed. mr. bove admonished a member. >> of. >> my team who took notes during

that meeting and directed the collection of those notes at the meeting's conclusion. the attorney for mayor adams, alex shapiro, denied the allegations in a statement that reads in part, quote, the idea that there was a quid pro quo is a total lie. we offered nothing and the department asked nothing of us. sassoon also revealed in that letter that her. office was prepared to bring. additional charges against mayor adams, based on evidence that adams destroyed, and instructed others to destroy evidence and provided false information to the fbi. adams was indicted last year on multiple criminal charges, including bribery and fraud, over his dealings with officials from the turkish government. he has maintained that he did nothing wrong. at least five other justice department officials have also resigned as a result of bovi's order to dismiss claire mccaskill. your

take on this. >> well. >> this prosecutors across the country are tremendously proud of this woman. i think that the cold. >> bucket of water. >> that was dumped on prosecutors all across the country, state, local, federal. was the letter from beauvais instructing her to dismiss the case. and here's what. what about that letter was so alarming? typically, mika, there's. only two reasons that a case would be dismissed after filing, and those are based on either the soundness of the legal arguments in terms of where the facts apply to the law, or secondly, the quality and quantity of the evidence. there has to be a problem with one of those two for a case to be dismissed ethically. and they admitted trump's justice department. this guy beauvais admitted in this letter they had not considered either one of

those things. that's called political corruption. that's called using politics to influence the application of the law in this country. and it was startling when i read that letter, because, you know, having been in the position to make terribly hard decisions about charging someone, you have to be guided by the law and the evidence. >> and not. >> all of this bs that the trump justice department is using. i mean, the greatest city in the world deserves better than eric adams. i just hope new yorkers are paying attention. >> i think they are. claire. we'll see what happens. he's got an. >> election coming up here. >> let's talk. >> more broadly. >> take this case just. >> about how the. >> justice system. >> is holding up in this first. >> month or so of. >> the second trump administration. >> we talked in our. >> last segment about in many ways, it is pushing back. it's suggesting. >> that. >> all these. >> executive orders. >> cross the line and are not legal and kept in place, at least some of the things that

donald trump is trying to pull away. >> but what is. >> the challenge going. forward when we have. loyalty tests at the fbi? loyalty tests among. federal judges. donald trump and his. >> people are pushing and pushing. >> and seeing how far. >> they can go. >> what do. >> you. >> see as the end. >> game here? >> i think it's really difficult. to see right now. a lot of this is going to be in the lap of our court system. you know, i guess i've never been more grateful for lifetime appointments in the federal judiciary. because nobody there has to worry about losing their job. like some of the cowardly republicans in the united states senate that are bending a knee for really incompetent and inappropriate cabinet members. so we'll see if the courts hold up. we'll see how line prosecutors. and just trust me, as somebody who's been in this system, the vast majority of the fbi, if they lean any way, they lean right, not left. and the vast majority of the prosecutors in this country are are not

doing anybody's political bidding. they are trying to protect their communities. and if they hollow out the fbi and they hollow out the department of justice. >> from all. >> with all the skilled. people that are in those agencies right now protecting america. i mean, all. >> this talk. >> they have about wanting to get bad guys. really, this is how you go about it. you, you you nominate a guy to head the fbi that says he wants to close the fbi headquarters and make it a museum. that's the way you attack violent crime in this country. it's just crazy. and i hope americans are paying attention. it's hard to pay attention because everybody is drinking out of a fire hose right now with all the nonsense. >> that's. >> coming out of the oval office. >> mayor adams is. >> is making an appearance or made an appearance this morning on fox news with homan. so, i don't know, it seems kind of obvious, but perhaps we just leave. >> it. >> there for now. >> congresswoman. >> i'd like to ask you about the

legal challenges that that elon musk's doge moves are seeing right now. attorneys, generals across the country to all these cuts and changes that they're making outside of the process. what's your take? and what's members of democratic members of congress take on this? is there any more action that can be taken to push back, or are you feeling a little powerless at this point? >> no. i think it's. >> striking how. >> effective some. >> of the. >> pushback has been. >> so far. >> where in the courts especially, you've. >> seen the judges. >> stopping the ability to shut. >> down all. >> federal funding. places like headstart and meals. >> on wheels, that we were seeing. >> the pause that took place. >> that was ended. we're seeing elon musk being. >> pushed out of treasury. the courts. have pushed him out of that. just last. >> night. >> we saw a decision. >> that said. >> that we. >> have to fulfill. >> our federal. >> contracts on foreign aid.

>> so ending that program. >> and then. >> what's so striking. >> to me here, too, is you're seeing pushback at. >> the u.s. attorney's office says. >> now, danielle sassoon. >> the yeah. >> i mean, she is no liberal icon. >> she's a member of the federalist society. >> she you know. >> she clerked. >> for justice scalia. this is coming down to people. >> who are loyal. >> to the. >> constitution or. >> people who are. >> loyal. >> to trump. >> we have. >> lots more to get to this hour. morning joe weekend continues. continues. i'm thinking of updating my kitchen... —yeah? —yes! ...this year, we are finally updating our kitchen... ...doing subway tile in an ivory, or eggshell... —cream?... —maybe bone?... don't get me started on quartz. a big big island... you ever heard of a waterfall counter?... for everyone who talks about doing that thing, and, over there. but never does that thing... a sweet little breakfast nook. chase has financial guidance. let's see how you can start saving to make this happen. —really? —really? really. at home or in-person. you could also check out a chase money skills workshop. that's guidance from chase. make more of what's yours. here's to getting better with age.

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try friday plans.com. >> donald trump. >> is defending. >> the mass firings of federal watchdogs. >> our federal government now can discriminate against the citizens of the country. >> we are all watching. >> and waiting. >> to see. >> who. is going to hold the line. >> don't miss the. >> weekends, saturday and sunday mornings at. >> 8:00 on msnbc. >> celebrating 50 years of. >> music live featuring arcade fire, 52, backstreet boys, bad bunny, bonnie raitt, brandi carlile, chris martin, dave grohl, david byrne, devo, eddie vedder, jack white, jelly roll. lady gaga, miley cyrus, mumford and sons, post malone, the roots. only on peacock. >> welcome back to morning joe. weekend. let's pick up the conversation we were having just before the break. >> congressman. >> let's talk about. >> democracies overseas. you have a military background. >> you serve on the. >> house armed. >> services committee. >> let's get. >> your reaction. >> to what you've heard from the president and the administration. >> this week about ukraine. >> suggesting that the nation should not. >> be considered. >> for nato. >> that. it will not reclaim. all of its. territory seized illegally, of course.

>> by russia during. >> this conflict. >> you know. >> as it seems. >> like we're heading. >> towards the negotiating. >> table. >> what do you. >> think of the stance the. >> trump ministration. >> is taking? >> yeah. so i was in. ukraine about. >> ten days before. >> the war started. and then thereafter i've been back. >> and i'll tell you, the people there have been working incredibly hard to preserve a democracy. knowing what it. >> looks. >> like under putin's rule. >> and to. >> now have trump. >> go to the. >> negotiating table. >> already giving away. >> one of our. >> key negotiating. >> points. >> ceding that. >> to putin. it is just what. >> so many. >> of us. >> were concerned about. >> we know that this is a president that. >> is not. >> immune to. >> flattery, and putin knows. >> that, too. >> so we were very. worried about him. >> being manipulated on the world scene. >> and i think. >> we're seeing. that now. >> so the editorial board of the financial times writes about trump's. dangerous approach to peace in ukraine. >> that piece reads. >> in part this the president's approach looks alarmingly like a path to the sell out his partners had feared. european

leaders must use all means they can to try and talk trump round to a more robust stance, but they must get their act together, too, in taking control of their own and ukraine's defense. trump's 90 minute call to his russian counterpart was a gift to the kremlin. it ruptured a three year effort to isolate a man who many european leaders and former u.s. president joe biden have called a war criminal. similarly, welcome to moscow. no doubt we're seth's comments that ukrainian membership of nato or restoring the country's 2014 borders were unrealistic. these may reflect underlying truths, but ceding two key bargaining chips before negotiations even begin is an odd step for a u.s. president who considers himself a master of the deal. claire, you sat on the armed services committee. you've been following this. what

do you make of that? i mean, trump calls it a negotiation. he says it started, but it hasn't started. and yet it does seem that he's ceding most of the positive outcome for vladimir putin. >> yeah. the president's ego is. >> so big. >> he actually believes that he doesn't need any allies around the world. and that puts us in a very dangerous position. the notion that he would begin ceding territory to putin without even talking to our european allies. i mean, nato has been a very successful military alliance. it is there to protect us, and it has worked very, very well. and the notion that he would try to go into a negotiation by calling our adversary and beginning to deal without even consulting our allies or, frankly, without beginning with ukraine, who we

have been trying to protect with american tax dollars since russia invaded them and tried to take over their country in an illegal war. so it is really, you know, backwards how he is going. about this. >> and i. >> would i would ask congresswoman cheryl and. >> you know, as. >> somebody who has served in the military, as someone who has flown helicopters. as someone who sees pete hegseth as really having an attitude, a public attitude that women like you are not needed in the military, and that, even worse, that women like you somehow subtract from our strength. tell me what this feels like to the people who have been training, and the people who have been working on arming ukraine, and the people who understand what it means. if donald trump puts up the white flag to vladimir putin. >> it's so. incredibly

upsetting. to those of us. >> who believe. deeply in democracy. >> to those of us. >> who have worked. >> across the. >> world with our allies and. >> know that we never. >> fight alone. as the. >> united states. >> of america. >> that we've. >> had key allies. >> we've been building. >> since world. >> war two, that. >> we've set. up a rules based order across the world. >> for. >> democracy and democratic institutions and economic institutions that have created. fair playing fields for u.s. companies. >> around the world. so to see all of. >> this being. rolled back. and i. >> don't. think it's i don't. >> think it's unintentional. >> i think. >> trump has been attempting since his last administration to. realign the united states. >> away from. >> democracies and. towards people. >> like putin. >> like president for life. >> xi like the. >> north korean dictator. >> seeing that as a pathway that he would like to emulate. and it's very dangerous. and i'm very hopeful. as you know, the munich security conference is coming up this weekend. we know

that people like vice president vance will be there. and i am praying that sitting there face. to face with our traditional allies, remembering who fights with us and remembering what we fight for. >> and why. >> it's so critically important, will ignite within this administration some. >> sense of. >> how important our allies are across the world, and i hope that it will reignite in them a desire to protect democracy. >> here at. >> home and across the world. >> so. >> congresswoman. >> we i want to go back to the top of the conversation we were talking about, about the how's the resistance working? how does the pushback working? >> and you pointed. >> to the court's totally legit. >> one of the things. >> in among democrats that we. >> saw after the. >> election was naturally, like a lot. >> of introspection. >> people talking about how. >> do we change? >> we had a pretty bad election cycle. >> you have an. >> election two years from now that the party does. it's the next time when. >> there's a chance. >> to win back some actual power in. >> the. >> legislative branch. do you where do. >> you. >> think that.

>> discussion stands now? >> because trump takes. >> up so much oxygen. >> below the line, below. >> the surface. >> democrats are. >> having a. >> still a. >> robust debate. >> about should we would we need to change messaging? do we need to change what the. >> party stands for? >> where is that discussion. and where do you. >> think it needs to go? >> so i actually. >> have an election. >> coming up. >> less than one. >> year from now. so i. >> know you i know you. >> do set the table exactly for. >> those 2026 elections. >> so those. >> conversations are are. >> happening now in real time. >> yeah. >> and you know, as. i've said. >> we can't simply be the party that is anti-trump and pro-abortion. we need to be the party that is discussing why this matters to every single person. and we can already see the buyer's remorse going on. people who in just one month are realizing. >> that. >> inflation is going up, not down under this administration. and so really providing the path forward for how do we drive down. housing costs, how do we make sure that everybody has a fair shot to an education in new jersey and can afford to live there?

>> how do. >> we just. make the. transportation system better? because it's not enough to fight hard for. >> democracy when you can't deliver. >> for. >> people at home. >> up next, we'll take a closer look at what some government workers are saying about the trump administration's war on the federal bureaucracy. as the the federal bureaucracy. as the white house looks if you have this... consider adding this. an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan from unitedhealthcare. medicare supplement plans help by paying some of what medicare doesn't... and let you see any doctor. any specialist. anywhere in the u.s. who accepts medicare patients. so if you have this... consider adding this. call unitedhealthcare today for your free decision guide. ♪ (wife) saving for retirement was tough enough. for your free decision guide. (husband) and navigating markets can be challenging at times. (fisher investments) i understand. that's why at fisher investments, we keep a disciplined approach with your portfolio, helping you through the market's ups and downs.

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have been part of helping feed children in sudan, helping stopping diseases across africa and other continents. >> well, that's the that's the irony here, that one of the most. important things that usaid does is, is pepfar, which was started by a republican president, george w bush. and the irony here, again, is that republicans have been some. >> of the biggest. >> supporters of usaid, because, as you said, it's the it's. projection of soft power. the us is in parts of the world where it's important to show the flag, especially when china is trying to make inroads. and the other factor. >> here, of course, is. >> that it's less than 1% of the. >> federal budget. >> many americans think that the united. >> states spends 25%. >> of its budget on foreign aid, and that it should be closer to 10%. the reality is, it's less than 1%. and we can talk about what this has done to the workers themselves. i mean, they've been the they've been fired in the middle of the night

by tweets. they've been told with 24 hours to go that their health insurance is running out. and it's been a. very frantic scramble for these people. and they but they say at the same time that, you know, their real concern is that. >> the. >> people they serve in these foreign. countries who are completely left, left hanging right now. >> yeah. and elizabeth points out pepfar, 25 million lives saved so far by a george w bush program. this is not a far left program david french was on earlier this week talking about all of the faith based programs from evangelical churches from catholic organizations. this is this is also yeah, there i'm sure there's some left wing programs in here. there are also some faith based programs here that you would think republicans would be the first to defend. >> well. >> certainly in an earlier. >> era. but i. >> think this. >> is a different time. >> and this is, frankly, a more

secular. >> party. >> joe. >> than it was 20 years ago. certainly 30 years ago, i, i spoke to somebody. >> working in the. field for. >> for. >> us, a really brave person. and this. person chronicled what the last few. days have. been like. >> and it. >> doesn't matter your view. >> of the. >> program and. >> you know, you. >> can think. >> it should be. >> axed. >> or you can. >> think it should be doubled. >> in funding. that's irrelevant. you just you don't. >> treat american. >> officials who are. >> serving the country. >> abroad, whether in uniform or not. this way. >> you don't do that. >> to our our fellow. >> countrymen and. >> especially those who are. >> serving in really. >> dangerous neighborhoods, trying to. >> do good for the country. >> i think a lot of viewers out there maybe. >> aren't familiar with. >> the extent. >> of. chinese efforts at global hegemony. look. >> there's a. >> belt and. >> road program out of. >> beijing, and. >> they are. >> trying. to make inroads in every. >> corner of. >> the world. >> and develop friendships by offering infrastructure for the. developing world.

>> they are on the march with that program. >> and. >> we have. >> to counter that. >> and that's what part of. >> usaid does. >> elizabeth, this is eddie glaude. could you please give us a better sense of what doge is doing with usaid? what does it portend? in some ways, what we're. >> seeing. >> with usaid could be considered kind of the canary in the mine. >> so what. >> should we take from what's happening here for what we might think will be happening down the road? >> well, this has been the, so far, the most aggressive assault, i would say, on a federal agency. their plan so far it's been it's been temporarily blocked by judges. the doge plan that is also trump's plan was to take to reduce usaid from 10,000 employees to a little less. than 300. that basically is no longer an agency. you can't run, you can't do anything with that number of people with the kind of ambitions that usaid had. now that's all been blocked. but at

the same time, there's been thousands of contractors who have also been fired outright. they do not have the job protections that the federal employees have. and those contractors are a big part of it as well. so i think this is this was their test case to show what they could do, and they did it. so they've done it so quickly and overnight in a matter of weeks. they've done this. they've taken down the sign on the usaid building on pennsylvania avenue in the reagan building. so it's a it's a test case for them. and that's what they're now they're moving to other parts of the federal government. >> so let's talk about the domestic politics of this. we have seen some democrats rally outside the building. >> denounce some. >> of the cuts there. you know, is that what. >> lessons have. >> they learned. in your. conversations with. democrats as to how to approach not just this with usaid. but those few further gutting of other agencies? how are they going to handle politically? i think. >> that they're. >> torn. >> jonathan, politically, as to what to do, because i.

>> think that, you know, there's. >> an impulse. after the last election. >> let's just. >> focus on the economy. and trump is lowering egg. >> prices or he's. >> not, and. >> we're going. >> to jam. >> him when costs don't. >> go down. eyes on the prize. there's also. >> a school of thought of holy. you know what? >> he's dismantling. >> the federal. >> government and actually trying to. run a sort of extra. >> constitutional regime here. we can't. stand by and focus only on. >> the price. at the grocery. >> store when our democracy. >> is at peril. and i don't think that. >> they've resolved yet. >> how to approach trump, because there. >> is no easy answer. >> in fairness. >> i think. >> that they're wrestling with. that to this very second. >> jonathan. yeah. and, you know, i had i had said the democrats learned all the wrong lessons by saying, well, let's not defend foreign aid. that said, i mean, it is it is unpopular. foreign aid is i know it's a politician. you know, we balance the budget four years in a row. i still have people screaming at me at town hall meetings about voting for

foreign aid. it is it is just not not popular in part, i think, because people don't get out in front of it and explain what you all have explained here today. >> coming up, the new york times editorial board is out with an op ed this week entitled now is not the time to tune out. john meacham talks to us about that meacham talks to us about that next on morning here's to getting better with age. here's to beating these two every thursday. help fuel today with boost high protein, complete nutrition you need, and the flavor you love. so, here's to now... now available: boost max! brand new. if you're living with diabetes, i'll tell you the same thing i tell my patients. getting on dexcom g7 is one of

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>> the new york times. it's just one of these moments, and, you know, this is a ride where people will come up to you and thank you for saying things, writing things that they have felt in their heart and that they have tried to express, but haven't been able to do it as effectively as you have. i think all the things i've been trying to tell people about keeping calm and carrying on and staying focused and staying informed, the new york times handled it wonderfully. and if you'll you'll give me the privilege of time to read the new york times and what they say. what this moment calls for. don't get distracted. don't get overwhelmed. don't get paralyzed and pulled into the chaos that president trump and his allies are purposefully creating. with the volume and speed of executive orders, the efforts to dismantle the federal

government, the performative attacks on immigrants, transgender people, and the very concept of diversity itself. the demands that other countries accept americans as their new overlords, and the dizzying sense that the white house could do or say anything at any moment. all of this is intended to keep the country on its back heel, so president trump can blaze ahead, and his drive for maximum executive power so no one can stop the audacious, ill conceived and frequently illegal agenda being advanced by his administration. for goodness sake, writes the times. don't tune out. the actions of the presidency needs to be tracked, and when they cross moral or legal lines, they need to be challenged boldly and thoughtfully, with the confidence that the nation's systems of checks and balances will prove up to the task. there

are reasons for concerns on that front, of course. the republican led congress has so far abdicated its role as a co-equal branch of government from allowing its laws and spending directives to systematically be cast aside, to fearfully ascending to the president's stocking of his cabinet with erratic, unqualified loyalists. much of civil society, from the business community to higher education to parts of the corporate media, has been disturbingly quiet, even acquiescent. but there are encouraging signs as well. the courts. the most important check on a president who aims to expand his legally authorized powers and remove any guardrails so far have held, blocking a number of mr. trump's own initiatives. states have also taken action. they go on to say that none of this is to say that mr. trump shouldn't have the

opportunity to govern. 77 million americans cast ballots to put mr. trump back in the white house and the republican party, now fully remade in the service of the maga movement, holds majorities in both houses of congress. elections, as it is often noted, have consequences. but is this unconstitutional overhaul of the american government? what he campaigned on? and it goes on and on, john. but i find i find so much of that so important for americans to understand that several things true at once. donald trump had 77 million people vote for him. the people have spoken. he is president of the united states. republicans control the senate. republicans control the house. they have slim majorities in both, but they do control those. they have a right to move

forward and try to pass legislation that that moves america in the direction where they want it to move, but they cannot redefine unilaterally the powers of the presidency. and j.d. vance's tweet yesterday that courts cannot stop a president's legitimate power. i mean, of course they can't. but it is the courts and not vice presidents. yeah, it is william rehnquist and it is warren burger that determined the outlines of a president's authority and not spiro agnew and richard nixon. that is we saw that in nixon v us. i suspect we will see that again soon. but it is important. i, i love this editorial and i'm wondering what you took from it.

>> well, i think. >> this is what, for instance, the federalist papers were drafted for. this is. >> what the if you look at the. >> american founding. >> you see. >> in many ways an imperfect group of men. and they were men trying to create the most perfect system they could, all the while knowing. >> that they were. >> going to fail at that. but they made the argument that. because human nature is sinful and we are fallen and frail and we're fallible. >> and. >> we want power because. >> you know. >> since the third chapter. >> of genesis. >> we've been taking. >> instead of giving. and the founders understood that. and as madison said, ambition must be made to counteract ambition. >> up next, as rfk jr is confirmed to run, doctor adam

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all in one place. sign up for msnbc daily at msnbc.com. celebrating 50. >> years of. >> music live featuring arcade fire, 52, backstreet boys, bad bunny, bonnie raitt, brandi carlile, chris martin, dave grohl, david byrne, devo, eddie vedder, jack white, jelly roll. lady gaga, miley cyrus, mumford and sons, post malone, the roots. only on peacock. >> small county. >> in west texas. >> is dealing with a. >> sudden increase in cases of measles. the 15 confirmed infections are mostly in school age children in gaines county. >> which. >> has one of the highest rates of vaccine. >> exemptions in the state. >> it's just the latest in a recent. >> spike of measles cases, including in. >> atlanta, where health officials are working to. contain an infection among two unvaccinated. >> family members. >> research shows a population achieves herd immunity from measles. >> when more than. >> 95% of people are fully. >> vaccinated, preventing. >> the disease from spreading. but the associated press points.

>> out, during the covid pandemic. >> national vaccination rates for kindergartners. >> fell to 93% and remain there. >> many pockets. >> of. >> the country have far lower. >> rates even. >> than that. >> this map shows the percentage of. >> vaccination rates for measles, mumps and. >> rubella from 2023. >> to 2024. the dark orange the states there represent areas where less than. >> 90% of the. >> population is protected. the drop is. >> driven in part by record. >> numbers of kids getting. vaccination waivers. joining us now, doctor adam ratner. >> he's the. >> head of pediatric infectious diseases. >> at nyu. >> and author of the. >> new book, booster shots. >> the urgent lessons of measles. >> and the. >> uncertain future of children's health. we will note doctor ratner speaking. >> with us this morning in his personal capacity, not. >> as a. >> representative of nyu. doctor, thanks for being with us this morning. >> we appreciate it. your book couldn't come at. >> a. better time. right now, when you. >> hear that. >> headline of. that like that out of texas. what alarm bells. >> go off? >> it is very alarming. and

sadly predictable. this is, as you alluded to, a trend that's been in the works since before covid, but really was supercharged during covid. and measles is the most contagious disease that we know. it's more contagious than flu, more contagious than covid, more contagious. >> than ebola. >> and it the reason that we need such a high level of vaccination in the population to control measles is because it is so very contagious. and so when you see those vaccination levels in kindergartners dropping down below 95%, and in some places like in gaines county, texas, where they're at about 80%, that is a recipe for a measles outbreak. >> so where do you. >> trace the. >> beginning of this skepticism about vaccines? obviously, we have a man in. robert f kennedy jr, who's about to become head of the national health service's likely to be confirmed, who has expressed, to put it mildly, extreme skepticism about

vaccines. when and how did all. >> this start? >> so there has. been vaccine. >> hesitancy and questions about vaccines. >> for. >> as long as there have been vaccines dating back to the smallpox vaccine. but it really got supercharged around the time of the andrew wakefield paper, which was in the late 1990s, and this was the later found to be fraudulent and horribly conflicted paper that that made a link that is false between autism and vaccination, specifically the measles, mumps, rubella vaccination. and that idea has stuck, and it is much easier to scare people than it is to unscare people. and so the once questions were raised about vaccines, and once there was this kind of sticky idea out there, it's been very hard to debunk, even though there have been many, many studies that have disproven the link between mmr. >> and so tell us the premise of your book, booster shots, as it

especially as it pertains to what you call the uncertain future of children's health. >> right. so i talk mainly about measles in the book. >> but. >> the book is about much more than just measles because because measles is so contagious. it's the first warning sign that we see when something has gone wrong with our public health systems. what i mean by that is you see measles outbreaks first, and those are often followed by outbreaks of other contagious diseases that are vaccine preventable. and so i would predict that we're going to see surges in whooping cough, pertussis and other vaccine preventable diseases and hopefully not things like polio. but i worry about that as well. and so i think the main point of the book is that all of the progress that we've made in child health and child mortality over the last century, and it's been a lot of progress is at risk and is fragile progress. >> he's had one of the most

successful comic acting careers over the last half century, was the first to anchor weekend update on snl, and was the first to say those iconic words live from new york. it's saturday night. the legendary chevy chase is our guest. straight ahead. >> i feel like new sunglasses, like a brand new pair of jeans. brand new. >> learn more about celebrity cruises latest offers. >> you'll be back. emus can't help. >> people customize and save with liberty mutual. >> and doug. >> well. i'll be. >> well. i'll be. >> only pay (♪♪) heartburn makes you queasy? get fast relief with tums+ upset stomach & nausea support,

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fever, chills, or other signs of infection liver or kidney problems, are nursing, pregnant, or plan to be all medical conditions you have, and about all the medicines you take. for more information about side effects, talk to your doctor. these are real women. taking ibrance. ask your doctor about ibrance. jeff. >> copier has a great idea. >> wonder if it's the. >> same idea as yesterday. >> it's a performance issue. >> really. >> i know people push your buttons, but you still have to deliver. >> anything can. >> change adventures

and their sensations, too. get started today at sitter city. >> good evening. >> i'm chevy chase. >> the top story. >> is, of. >> course. >> the good news.

>> that president ford. >> is over. >> that week. >> long bout with. >> that stubborn cold. >> white house physicians. >> say. >> that after. >> a mild. >> cold of. >> that. >> sort, it will take the president a few days. >> to recover his. >> motor skills fully. >> and if i don't. >> win. >> i will. >> continue to run in the primaries. >> even. >> if there. >> are none. >> and now. >> for my. >> second announcement. >> are you double parked? you think you're blocking me now? i don't own a car. >> come on. who is this? >> andy graham. >> i, candy graham. oh, boy. oh, no. >> live from. >> new york. >> it's saturday night. >> a look back. >> at just some of the iconic moments from the. >> legendary chevy. chase on. >> saturday night. >> live. >> capped off there by the

show's. >> first ever. >> live from new york. that was in 1975. >> and the award winning comedian and actor joins me now in studio. he, of course, was a member. >> of. >> the. >> original cast. >> of snl. the show's 50th anniversary special will air. >> live this sunday. on nbc and. this saturday. >> night in the show's traditional 11:30 p.m. >> time slot. >> nbc will. >> re-air the very first episode ever chevy. >> good morning. >> it's so. >> great to have you here. we are thrilled that you are here on this occasion. i'm curious. you got in. >> the elevator this morning. >> at 30 rock. >> came up the same. >> elevator, probably. >> with the same carpeting. >> yep. >> that was there. >> in 1975. >> i noticed the. walls had changed. >> the walls a bit. >> yeah. >> but otherwise it's sort. >> of the. >> sort of. >> the same. what? >> what does it feel like to. >> think that. >> it was 50 years. >> ago that you. >> birthed this incredible cultural phenomenon? >> it doesn't seem real in a way, but but at the same time as

we're going up there, i'm thinking, hey, i've been here many times, and it's. >> it's. >> a great thing for lorne and the cast and all of that. it's wonderful. but it's a long time ago and i miss it. i shouldn't have left, but there you are. >> well that's interesting. >> you say you shouldn't have left, so you were there. people. you're so associated with the show because you were. >> there right. >> from the beginning. you invented weekend update, all of those things. you were a writer on the show and a performer. >> but you left after. >> one year. looking back on it now. >> yeah. why did you leave. >> and why do you. >> say now? >> you shouldn't have. >> well. >> for gosh. >> sakes. >> you know, i left because i was stricken with a girl from la that i met and in fact married. but for only a couple of years, she was a. you know, i'm married to janie now and have been for 45 years. yeah, but. so it was

it was strange because i missed it right away, and i still miss it. i love that show. i loved being with lorne and the and the cast. it was quite a funny cast. dan aykroyd, john belushi. garrett morris, gilda. >> gilda. >> laraine and jane. you know, that was a great group of people. and so i you know, i missed them, too. we talk about. >> it now in such grand. terms because of the impact. >> it's had. >> but when you. guys were scrambling that first season and that. first episode just to figure. >> out how to. >> get something on the air, i'm sure it didn't feel like a guarantee. >> that this was going. >> to go on to have a long run. >> so what were those. >> early days like? >> oh. >> i have no memory. >> of this. >> come to think of it. >> no. >> no. >> it was great. you know, there is that film that came out about

saturday night live the first day and all that wasn't anything like. >> that, in fact. >> in fact, lorne and i. >> knew exactly. >> what we were going to do, and particularly lorne and was. we were prepared and ready. on the other hand, it was very exciting because, you know, i'm on tv now kind of thing. and i had been. on tv. but, i mean, this. is this. >> is. >> not the smothers brothers, where i was in. >> the background. >> somewhere. >> paul lynde show. >> or whatever that was. so it was wonderful. >> people don't realize too, you were hired as a writer. >> and then weekend. >> the idea. >> for weekend update comes along, and the story goes that lorne. >> just thought. >> you were the funniest guy in the office. >> yeah. >> you. made him laugh. >> more than anybody. >> else. >> so put him on. >> the air. >> yeah. >> i think so. because lorne, when he originally made the offer, he said, i don't want you

acting. i just like you to be the head writer. >> let's take a look at another sketch. >> this is landshark. >> we gotta think of something. >> and think. >> of. >> something very fast. okay, i. >> got it. >> i got an idea. okay, i'll be right back. >> this has gotta stop. >> we've got to do something. >> i know, i know, that's it. >> i can get some people. we'll post. >> deputies at the. >> entrances and exits. >> of all the buildings. >> i'm glad you're back. >> i know just. >> how to handle this. >> what we're going to do is we're. >> going to get. >> some people. >> together. >> get a posse. get a posse? >> that's right. >> surround the area. >> surround the area. right. that's good. >> that's good. >> surround the area. walkie talkies, walkie talkies. >> good. walkie talkies. >> maybe carry some harpoons. >> carry some harpoons. >> that's a stupid idea, that's. >> just a preposterous premise. >> but somehow still.

>> don't understand. jaws was a huge film, right? and it just seemed to me it would be hilarious if this guy could get on land. >> this shark. >> can be a land shark. and i just loved doing that voice and the whole concept of it. and so lorne had that huge shark made for me to put my head in, and it was so much fun to, you know, i that's how it began. everybody knew when they heard that, right, they'd know it was going to be land shark. >> right. >> and that's it for this weekend. thanks for spending part of your sunday with us. we're back tomorrow, bright and early 6 a.m. eastern for a new week of morning joe. until then, enjoy the rest of your day. >> good morning. >> it is sunday. >> february 16th. >> i'm alicia menendez with symone sanders townsend and michael