at. >> good morning. we're coming to you live from washington, d.c. this saturday morning with breaking news. six israeli hostages are being released today, along with hundreds of

palestinian prisoners. as we near the end of phase one of the cease fire deal between israel and hamas. but first, will the deal make it to phase two or will negotiations fall apart? also this hour, a major shakeup at the pentagon. donald trump orders the firing of the chairman of the joint chiefs, and he's not the only one on his way out the door. plus, donald trump is gearing up for a big speech today at cpac, expected to herald his slash and burn approach even as the backlash starts to build. from angry town halls in even republican districts. and it goes to this showdown between the president and the governor of maine at the white house. >> the ncaa has complied immediately, by the way. that's good. but i understand maine is maine here. the governor of. >> maine right down here. >> are you not going to comply with it? >> i'm complying with the state and federal law. well. >> we are the federal law. well, you. >> better do it. >> you better do it because you're not going to get any federal funding at all if you don't. and by the way, your

population, even though it's somewhat liberal, although i did very well there, your population doesn't want men playing in women's sports. so you better comply because otherwise you're not getting any, any federal funding for every state. good. i'll see you in court. i look forward to that. that should be a real easy one. >> thank you. >> and enjoy your life after governor, because i don't think you'll be in elected politics. >> all right. we're going to begin, though, with breaking news from the middle east. hamas handing over six israeli hostages, two who have been held for a decade. in return, israel is set to release 600 palestinian prisoners. today's exchange marks the end of phase one in the ceasefire deal between israel and hamas. also new this morning, the bibas family confirms the human remains returned by hamas to israel on friday are in fact those of hostage qari abbas. this comes two days after the palestinian militant group returned the wrong body along with her two children. israel says the hostages were killed by their captors. now, shortly,

we'll go live to nbc's hala gorani, who is on the ground in tel aviv. but first, let's bring in nbc's ross sanchez, who's been following this since the beginning. although also with us is aaron david miller, a former arab israeli negotiator for the u.s. state department, and joel rubin, a former deputy assistant secretary at state and author of the briefing book on substack. ralph, i want to start with you. this is the seventh hostage prisoner exchange, and that's happened so far. what is the latest? what do we expect next today? >> so, cristina, here's the state of play. we were expecting six hostages to come out of gaza today. we have seen five of them so far. they have been released with the usual sort of theatrical ceremonies that we've seen from hamas masked gunmen taking them on to a stage, waving to the crowd before handing them over to the red cross. red cross takes them to israeli forces, and then they cross back over into israel. now we have not yet seen the sixth

hostage, and he is a little unusual. his name is hisham al-sayed. he is an israeli bedouin, so he is an israeli citizen. but he is of arab bedouin descent. and he was taken into gaza or excuse me, he crossed into gaza in 2015. he was taken captive by hamas. then his family says that he suffers from mental health issues. so he has been inside of gaza for ten years. and hamas is saying that out of respect for the fact that he is a bedouin arab, that they will not put him through the same theatrical production as the other hostages. they're going to release him without ceremony. so it may be that we don't have the same visuals on him in terms of the other five hostages. four of them were taken captive on october 7th. among them is omar shem-tov. he was 20 years old when he was kidnaped at the nova music festival. christina. he has had not one but two birthdays in captivity. he is now 22 years

old. i have met his family many times. his mother left his bedroom untouched from the day that he was kidnaped more than 500 days ago. and i remember asking her at one point, are you mentally prepared for the possibility that your son could be in gaza for years? it was an agonizing question to ask. it was an agonizing question for her to answer. she just said, no, no, no, no, no. turns out it is coming up on a year and a half that he has been in gaza, but he is now finally free. i'll just close by saying the fifth of the hostages released in public today is a man called avera mengistu. he is a israeli of ethiopian origin, and he crossed into gaza in 2014. so he has been there more than ten years. and similarly to hisham al-sayed, his family says that he suffers from mental health issues. christina. >> all right. thank you so much, aaron. we want to turn to you because this is supposed to be

the final hostage exchange of this phase one deal as kind of written out in the agreement, but it's complicating things because, as ralph mentioned, these these hostage families have been going through so much, and they've really been petitioning the government to do whatever it takes to get the remaining hostages home. we also had a very fiery speech from israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu yesterday, railing against this kind of ghoulish display, this performative way. hamas handed over the bodies of that mother and her two children. i want to play you some of that sound. >> i mean, you know, on one hand, christine. >> today the heavens shake. the entire civilized world should condemn these horrific murders. the entire civilized world should join israel in demanding the immediate release of. >> all the hostages. >> all of israel is united in grief. and as the prime minister of israel, i vow that i will not rest until the savages who executed our hostages are brought to justice.

>> i'm sorry we cut you off a bit there, but i just wanted to know, you know, your take on what's happening today. and also, if you think there's a risk this could derail phase two, which hasn't actually been agreed to yet. right? >> right. and remember, there's an additional exchange next week, either thursday or saturday, where hamas is enjoined by the agreement to return an additional four israelis who are not living. look, let me start with the prime minister's comment. you know, avenging the dead is very important to ensure that hamas is an organized military force can never again be permitted to do what happened on october 7th. but look, redeeming the living, redeeming the living is critically important. and i suspect that the current israeli government, particularly the prime minister, is putting the focus of his efforts. not on that. on on the remaining 59 israelis, half of whom the

israelis judged to be dead, mostly males, idf soldiers putting the focus on destroying what is left of hamas and undermining their ability to govern it doesn't. it surprises me to some degree that that phase one went as smoothly as it did. but what does not surprise is the ghoulish and grotesque and grotesque way that hamas has orchestrated and manipulated not just the return of the living, but the return of the dead as well. so buckle up. we're heading into phase two. i'm thinking that both hamas and israel will agree to extend phase one. more hostages for palestinian prisoners, and that critically needed aid into gaza. but at some point, we're going to see a resumption of israeli military activity if no negotiations succeed in in hammering out the obligations under phase two. that's those

are very heavy lifts. >> all right, joel, i want to turn to you now, because the other thing that still has yet to be decided is the so-called day one plan, right? what happens when israel, if israel is completely out of gaza, who rebuilds? who takes control? no, president trump is kind of stepping back from his plan for the u.s. to take control of gaza and displace the entire palestinian population. while he talked about, you know, rebuilding it. i want you to take a listen to this interview on fox news radio. this is from yesterday. >> the way to do it is my plan. i think that's the plan that really works, but i'm not forcing it. i'm just going to sit back and recommend it. and then the u.s. would own the site. it would be no, no hamas, and there'd be development, and you'd start all over again with a clean slate. >> now, we haven't really seen the gulf allies step in here. are they starting to step up to try to come up with an alternative to trump's actually logistically impossible proposal of removing the palestinians

from gaza? >> yeah, christina. >> you were kind when you said logistically impossible. it's a it's a ridiculous concept to even. >> consider united states taking. >> over gaza. and. >> you know, to your. >> question, the problem. >> here is. >> that what has just happened over the last several. >> weeks is that president. >> trump has blown the opportunity. >> to. >> take advantage of this calm period. >> the first calm in. >> almost a year and a half, to really negotiate an end. >> state to this war, to negotiate with our allies. >> with jordan and egypt. >> for example. think about jordan. >> king abdullah came to washington, and rather than. working with the president on a position that our country could engage. >> other countries with. >> on what it would look like. >> in the future. >> what the end state would be. the king. tried to defend his country and protect it from being on the receiving end of. trump's wrath about this idea. and then egypt, a. longtime american ally, canceled the meeting. and now the arab league is meeting, trying to figure out

how to respond. this is no way to organize diplomacy. this is no way to continue this cease fire. and it's certainly no way to actually have an end state to. >> the war. and my. >> fear is that now there's just chaos on what's going to come next, which is what aaron points out, means that we could likely see more hostilities rather than more calm. >> aaron, can you walk us through what is supposed to be happening in phase two? as we said, this hasn't quite been negotiated or finalized yet. and do you think that original outline is even still feasible, or do you foresee kind of this amorphous, as you mentioned, just keep extending phase one as long as the ceasefire deal can hold? >> yeah, i mean, i haven't seen the agreement or the annexes, but the agreement enjoins both hamas and israel. hamas has to return all of the hostages, living and dead, and in the war and their military campaign or their military attacks, israel will withdraw from gaza according to the terms of the agreement and will commit to

ending the war. the problem with this, of course, is that you're dealing with two parties who are pledged to one another's mutual destruction, and these negotiations were done indirectly. hamas will not, because it's they only have one additional card to play, which is hostages will not return all of the hostages unless they receive ironclad guarantees that israel withdraw and will end the war. and nobody, not the us, not the un, no one is going to give hamas those sorts of guarantees. benjamin netanyahu has added an additional point or two to israel's commitments and. objectives for phase two, and that is the expulsion of hamas's leadership from gaza. look, hamas has been hollowed out as a military organization, but have they been destroyed? no, they are using repurposed israeli shells to create new weapons.

they are distributing humanitarian aid and charging for it. they've recruited thousands of young palestinians to staff up their ranks and to replace those who have been killed. so i think you're facing a situation where either phase one will continue for some time, but more likely a resumption of israeli military activity and for the hostages and for the people of gaza. that's going to be catastrophic. >> all right, aaron david miller, thank you so much, joel. you're sticking around to be with us later on in the show. but coming up, a major shakeup at the pentagon with new fallout after president trump abruptly fired several top military leaders, including the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. why it was done and who is stepping in? we're back in 90s stepping in? we're back in 90s you're watching msnbc. baby: liberty! mom: liberty mutual is all she talks about since we saved hundreds by bundling our home and auto insurance. baby: liberty! biberty: hey kid, it's pronounced "biberty." baby: liberty! biberty: biberty! baby: liberty!

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chair. joining us now from the white house is nbc's yamiche alcindor. and back with us again is joel rubin, former deputy assistant secretary at state. yamiche, nbc news has this new report that in addition to cq brown, there's two other military leaders who were fired. what more can you tell us about them? and do we know what led to this overall shakeup at the pentagon? >> that's right. where these are sweeping changes at the pentagon. and looking at this note from our colleague courtney kube, we can say that the chief of naval operations, as well as the air force vice chief of staff, were also fired. this also comes as the pentagon says it's going to eliminate 1400 jobs. that's related to cuts that they want to do to their budget. pete hegseth saying that he wants to cut $50 billion overall from the pentagon's budget. now, when you talk about why this is happening, the president as well as his allies have been saying for weeks and months that they want to go after and immediately fire military officials that they see as being too interested in diversity initiatives. and we

look at the joint chiefs of staff. he was someone who was advocating for racial diversity within the military, though he has also said that he is believing in the fact that every single service member should be merit based. but this really tells you that the president, as well as his allies were were were repeatedly attacking the joint chiefs of staff by name, talking about brown, talking about the roles that he was playing, the memos that he was sending out, talking about wanting to see diversity in the military. >> and we have these two other top leaders who are out. we also saw almost as soon as they came in, the head of the coast guard, who was a woman, was removed. can you tell us anything more about the individual that trump has chosen to replace cq brown? and that's this retired air force lieutenant general dan raisen, apparently. cain. >> well, i can tell you that the president says that he has full confidence in him and that he is someone who has a long history with the president, the president also saying that he was instrumental in defeating isis and that the president really feels as though that they have a comfortable relationship and that their views align, which, of course, is key in this

trump administration. i've been hearing for a number of white house officials that they're really cleaning out anyone that they see as not part of president trump's overall mission. so it's not surprising that this that dan, raising cain is someone that he is now turning to, given the fact that the president has praised him in the past. christina. >> all right. nbc's yamiche alcindor at the white house for us early on a saturday morning. thank you so much. and joining us now is white house correspondent and reuters reporter jeff mason. all right, jeff, democratic senator jack reed, who is himself a former army paratrooper, wrote in a washington post op ed quote, firing the military's most senior legal adviser is an unprecedented and explicit move to install officers who will yield to the president's interpretation of the law with the expectation they will be little more than yes men on the most consequential decisions of military law. this is not a president who particularly likes to be disagreed with. you know, he has a long history when it comes to the people he calls my general. but what insight do you can you bring us when it comes

to how president trump sees the military and its role with the executive? >> well. >> you. >> know. >> i think it's. >> in line with how. >> he sees. >> pretty much. >> everyone who works for him. he i would make a comparison to the department. >> of justice during the first. trump administration. the president talked. >> about wanting to have. >> his his. >> own roy cohn. >> he was. disappointed that his attorney general at. >> the time were not. >> basically serving. >> as his. >> own personal. >> attorneys and representing or speaking. >> up. >> for him in that way. i think that sort of same paradigm or worldview. >> can apply to. >> how he sees generals. >> and how. >> he sees other top. leadership people within his administration. and with regard. >> to the military. >> specifically, he sees. himself rightly. >> as the. >> commander in chief. >> and he. >> wants to have. >> generals who are loyal to him. and so i think it just kind of looking at it. >> through that lens would. >> explain. >> at least. in some ways, why

he's he's making this decision. i think it's also. >> important to realize. >> he. did this. >> on a friday night. >> it's not something that he. >> announced in the middle of the week. and that. >> also i think is, is at least telling. >> in washington when. >> you do drop sort. >> of a news bomb like. that late right before a weekend. >> it indicates, i think as well that it's something that. >> i don't know, maybe that he didn't want to draw. >> attention to before people were heading into the weekend. >> and it's not unheard of that presidents have rifts or fights with their joint chiefs. you know, there's a long history of disagreement there, but normally it's not handled quite with, with this level of just dismissing them so openly. but as you said, they did do it on a friday night. joel, i want to ask you, there's a new york times profile of the new head of the joint chiefs or the person who trump is going to put up for the role. and it says at a conservative political action conference meeting last year, mr. trump said the general can put on a make america great hat

while meeting with him in iraq. but, notes general cain told aides, he's never put on a maga hat. so i'm going to ask you to put on your thinking hat and say, what pressure do you think he's going to be under during his confirmation hearing to tell members of congress that he will hold the line and won't just do everything the president asks him to do? >> well, first of all, christine, i don't have a maga hat here. >> in. >> my house, i apologize. look. you know. this is not going to be an independent military advisor kind of position or individual anymore. let's be clear. the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff is supposed to be inherently independent of providing military advice to the president of the united states. that is what we need to protect our nation's security. and that's not what we're getting anymore. now we're getting a political, a political hack, a political pick. this is even and it's really important to point this out. this is a demotion pick. you know, general brown is

a four star general. kane is a three star. apparently, president trump's meritocracy works in reverse and against highly qualified individuals, generals, leaders and dare i say, leaders who are african-american. he doesn't really want to be around, apparently, right now. and so this these confirmation hearings, i think, are going to be incredibly embarrassing for the president. they're going to open up a whole pandora's box of questions about why he values personal loyalty and politics over the nation's military readiness to defend us. >> all right. on that note, i want to turn quickly to the war in ukraine. there is new fallout from president trump's comments about ukrainian president volodymyr zelensky. and we've got some sound for you guys. let's take a listen. >> but think of it, a modestly successful comedian, president zelensky talked the united states of america into spending $350 billion to go into a war that basically couldn't be won a

dictator without elections. zelensky better move fast, or he's not going to have a country left. >> jeff, when i talked to people at the white house this week about this, they said it's all part of a tactic. it's part of a negotiating tactic. trump is playing chess. he's he's unsettling people. he has a strategy. is that what you're hearing? does it seem that there's strategy here? and what is the risk in in discombobulating america's allies with a long standing alliance like support for ukraine, what is the fallout going to be from this potentially? >> well. >> i think. >> number one, the. >> fallout is driving a wedge between. >> the united states and its. >> allies, who. have shown a great deal. >> of union. unity during the ukraine russia war. >> over the last couple of years. >> also. fallout for ukraine itself. i mean, it was striking to me when president trump made those. >> remarks that. >> he often will say things. he used to say things on the campaign trail about, if we don't do this, then we won't

have a country. >> anymore. >> referring to the united states. well, when he talks. >> about. ukraine not having. >> a country. >> anymore, it's much more literal. >> because ukraine's. >> country has been. >> on the line ever since. >> russia invaded it. and just as. >> a pure fact checking mechanism right now, it's important to note. >> that it was russia. >> that invaded ukraine. >> it's not the other. >> way around, and ukraine didn't. have an option to prevent. that from happening. >> so it's. >> you know, it also, it also. >> has. >> to do with facts and has to do with. what what actually happened and talking about. >> what. >> actually happened. when you have the bully pulpit of the. presidency of the united states. but i would you know, i think the ramifications are huge. >> it's. a it's a huge shift in. >> how the united states. >> addresses europe. >> and addresses. >> this war. >> and whether it's chess or checkers or something else that's, you know, that's up for the administration to decide. and it's and it's certainly up for the president to decide how he wants to. >> to proceed.

>> but it is. >> a it's. >> an enormous shift that i don't think we can underplay. >> and it's a game with real human consequences. all right. joel rubin and jeff mason, thank you both for joining us. all right. next we're going to go back to israel for the latest on today's hostage release. and the next phase in that delicate cease fire between israel and hamas. we'll have a live report from tel aviv that's up next. from tel aviv that's up next. you're watching with fatigue and light-headedness, i knew something was wrong. then i saw my doctor and found out i have afib, and that means there's about a 5 times greater risk of stroke. symptoms like irregular heartbeat, heart racing, chest pain, shortness of breath, fatigue, or light-headedness, can come and go. but if you have afib, the risk of stroke is always there. if you have one or more symptoms, get checked out. making that appointment can help you get ahead of stroke risk. this is no time to wait. here's to getting better with age. here's to beating these two every thursday. help fuel today with boost high protein,

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during phase one of the cease fire deal. joining us now live from tel aviv is nbc's hala gorani. hala, what have you seen so far on the ground? have the hostages arrived where you are, and what are we expecting to see? >> right. >> well, we are. >> coming to you from hostage square in central tel aviv. it's raining right now, and the weather has been not. not great. but despite that, we've seen large crowds here in tel aviv. today is obviously a happier occasion than on thursday, when hamas sent back the remains of four hostages, including a mother and her two young. >> children. >> members of the family. what you're seeing there on your screen are israelis who lined the roads as the waiting for the. >> release of. >> hostages today, who are released in two separate ceremonies inside the gaza strip to make it. back to israeli military custody and then to be. >> flown on. >> to area hospitals. so there

was one hostage handover. that took place in rafah. that's in the southern part of gaza. it involved two hostages, one man who had been held for over a decade. this was unrelated to october 7th. he had kind of drifted into the gaza strip and was taken captive more than ten years ago. and another one was tal. >> shoham. >> who was taken from the nova festival on october 7th. he was freed. he was made to say something in one of these hamas spectacles. we've seen those over the last several weeks into a microphone thanking his captors, and then was taken by red cross workers there and then in the nuseirat area that's in central gaza. three more hostages were released. those were all men in their 20s, civilians. they were all kidnaped from the nova music festival on october 7th. they seemed they seemed thinner than when they were taken. if you compare it to the pictures that we've of them that that have circulated for over 14.

>> months now. >> but they were waving. they were smiling. so i'm sure that was provided some comfort to their family and loved ones, that they didn't look as frail and as emaciated as some of the other hostages we've seen released. >> christina probably really happy to be home or heading home, i would imagine. i want to ask you, we're nearing the end of this perscribed phase one period, and what comes next has not been agreed to yet, hasn't been set up. as you talk to regular israelis, you know, people who have been living under the shadow of this conflict for the last year or so. how are they feeling about where this goes next? are they concerned the cease fire won't hold? and do they think the rest of the hostages will come out before these things start to fall apart? >> so. >> as. >> you rightly say, this cease fire deal unfolds not just in one phase, but in several phases. phase two calls for the complete withdrawal of the israeli military from the gaza strip, and then the handing over

of the remaining living and also dead hostages, including the last remaining living american hostage, edan alexander. i spoke to his mother just a few minutes ago. she lives in the us, but she says she comes here every few weeks to, you know, just keep the pressure on israeli leaders here in this country to get phase two going. this is what she told me about her hopes for the cease fire deal, to progress on to the next stage. >> listen. >> first of. >> all, i know president trump. said it. >> not once and. >> not twice. that is demanding. >> all the hostages release. he wants to. >> see it. and since trump is president, we. >> saw the. >> cease fire happened. >> now we're in phase one, and i'm hoping that they're going to continue with the release of all the live hostages, and then they're going to deal also. >> with the deceased hostages. >> the. >> well. this is.

>> the mother of edan alexander. you can imagine she really, really wants phase two to happen, because that would mean that she's reunited with her son. but it's not just the israelis, it's the palestinians. obviously. they are now living in a devastated, besieged enclave. over 45,000 people killed. they too want, you know, this to last and for war not to come back to their to their homes in many cases that. >> have been also obliterated. >> so there are lots of people who would like this to progress, and we'll see if it happens. still, so many open questions. christina. >> okay. >> gorani and tel aviv hostage square, thank you so much for joining us. and tomorrow's election in germany could further cement a far right resurgence in the nation. and it's getting special attention from who else, elon musk. a live report next. you're watching msnbc. >> are you. overwhelmed with identity. >> management in the context. >> of.

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germany for the country's national election. polling suggests the nation is set to have a new leader, as well as a new governing coalition. one political party gaining ground is the far right alternative for germany, more commonly known as the afd. now, afd has historically embraced anti-immigrant and anti-muslim views. but the party is attracting attention not just in germany but here in the u.s. as well. vice president jd vance and billionaire elon musk have

expressed support for the party. just last week, the vice president met with its leader, the afd leader alice weidel, in munich, becoming the most senior u.s. official to do so. and in a december post on x, elon musk wrote only afd can save germany. back with us from berlin is nbc's raf sanchez. okay. raf, we've been talking about this all week. i was just in munich, and i heard that exact quote back to me from a cab driver who said he thought afd was germany's. you know, the only party that could save germany was their last hope. now they're not expected to win the top job. they're not going to win the chancellorship, but they are surging. can you walk us through how afd has started to gain popularity? and talk a little bit more about the party's connection to the trump administration. >> so, kristina, polls show the afd likely to win around 20% of the vote. that doesn't mean that they're going to form the government going to lead the government, but it does mean that they are likely to be the largest opposition party in germany. and that is just a

seismic moment in this country in its democratic history. we have never seen in the far right doing this. well, not since the second world war has an extremist party been this close to power. so it is really alarming people in germany, but also across europe and around the world in terms of where this party came from. it has its origins as a kind of skeptical of germany's membership of the european union. and if you listen to its leader, alice weidel, she'll say, look, we're a conservative libertarian party. but you speak to analysts and they say, well, there is that strain inside the afd. there is also effectively a neo-nazi strain inside of the party, some of its more extreme members talking about not just slashing immigration, but also stripping citizenship away from germans who were born overseas, who have a nonwhite ethnic background. so this is some very, very extreme stuff. it is alarming a lot of people. immigration really at the top of the agenda going into this

election, following a series of high profile attacks. you had that car ramming in munich where you were last week. there was another car ramming at a christmas market in the city called magdeburg in december. and just last night, actually, berlin police are saying that a syrian refugee stabbed a man inside of the holocaust memorial in the very heart of this city. they say he was trying to kill jews. the person he stabbed was actually a spanish tourist. so people are on edge here heading into this crucial election. christina. >> all right. from tel aviv to berlin, covering it all for us this morning. raf sanchez, thank you so much. and president trump is heading to cpac today, just days after elon musk went to show how he's taking a chainsaw, literally and figuratively to the federal government. that's the federal government. that's ahead 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

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counsel. joining us now is nbc news white house correspondent vaughn hillyard, who is at cpac today. and back with us is jeff mason. jeff mason reuters white house correspondent vaughn, i want to start with you. what do we expect to hear from the president today at cpac? you know, i don't know how he's going to top a bedazzled chainsaw from the president of argentina, but what are you expecting? and are people excited? >> right. >> this is going to be capping off a cpac year. and a couple of years ago, you know, this, christina, we would have a conversation about really kind of how it was a whiplash. >> to. >> watch cpac, the conservative right sort of annual celebration, get turned into essentially trump pac and, you know, walking around these halls. that is a more so the case than ever before. and the now president trump is going to be the one to cap off today's events. but look at this. they're going to be able to this afternoon go before the thousands of folks, activists in attendance here and claim several victories. now, as you

noted, these judges here, including allowing the administration to terminate those thousands of usaid employees effectively, are going to be able to argue that they have had victories in the courts and that the executive branch under donald trump is winning here. and i think that the backdrop to so much of this is also important, and that is the fact that you're going to have president of argentina speaking later this morning. you're also going to have italian prime minister giorgia meloni speaking just before president trump. two far right politicians, not from the united states, and all of that with the backdrop of the afd elections that are coming up that you and ralph are just talking about. and so for the president, this is not just about the domestic repercussions and the efforts to restructure the federal government out of washington, d.c, but also to change the face of the u.s. allyship with overseas. and at a

time in which european allies are questioning the commitment of the u.s. administration moving forward. this is a moment in time where now president trump is making it very clear who he sees as his loyal allies overseas, and that includes the likes of prime minister meloni and president of argentina. >> right. and these leaders are trying to ingratiate themselves to the president because his his take on politics does seem very personal. but, jeff, i actually want to ask you a little bit about the domestic reaction to some of the trump administration's moves. you know, we've got voters in republican districts are starting to put pressure on their lawmakers about these cuts made to federal agencies, about these d.o.j. cuts in georgia. i want to play you some sound from a gop rep rick mccormick's town hall. let's take a listen to some of his constituents here. >> who is. paying for doge? >> we are looking. >> into that now to find out. i don't know the answer. >> they've been. indiscriminate and they've. >> taken a chainsaw. >> to these things.

>> you know, they may be getting some victories in the court, but if public opinion starts to turn. do you think any of this is going to get the administration's attention? >> well great question. >> i mean, i think public polling is something that any white. house is going to watch, and. >> having a little dip in. president trump's approval. ratings probably isn't. >> a huge numbers for you here. there is a yeah, it is starting to dip a little bit. we've got the numbers up right here. sorry, jeff. continue. >> yeah no sweat. i mean it's having. >> a little bit of a dip. there is. >> probably not a huge red flag, but it's something that they're going to watch. i think they're also. >> watching the fact that. >> democrats approval. >> ratings remain really low in the doldrums. >> so, you know, i don't think that. the white house. >> is. >> going to say anything has changed in. >> terms of. >> their mandate. >> but having like a canary in a coal mine. of republican voters and other. voters coming out and. >> starting to criticize. >> what they're seeing in. >> just the. >> first month. >> is no. >> doubt something that could. >> have a. >> bigger influence.

>> on those approval ratings. >> but again, i mean, i. >> said, we're just in. >> the first month. >> it feels like it's been longer than that, but it's just still the very beginning. >> and midterm. >> elections aren't for. >> a couple of years. >> so the president has a lot. >> of time. >> a to. >> implement his. >> agenda. >> and b, if. >> he needs to. >> make some changes. >> before there would. >> be any major repercussions. >> at the ballot box. >> vaughn, i asked one of our colleagues who was in the room when the elon musk chainsaw incident happened. you know, if it was even getting a little too weird for these hard-core supporters. and she said no, they were eating it up. but as you've been there, i want to ask you, are you hearing any kind of reticence, any kind of concern or pushback from hard core trump supporters about some of these layoffs, about some of these mass firings, about what they're seeing happen with their neighbors and friends? >> no. to answer the question quite directly here, this is for these conservative activists, right. when you look at a couple years ago who made up and comprised of this room, there

was a lot of talk about a divided republican party. well, one part of that party won out, and it was those who stood loyally by donald trump throughout his candidacy in 2023 and 2024, and then ultimately here through the transition process. and i think that the cabinet in so many ways, and elon musk and the individuals who are staffing the white house as go around, are very representative of the conservative activists that fill out this room and the right wing media here that have taken prominent places. and i think this is a moment where perhaps the firing of the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, as happened last night, cq brown, being terminated by president trump and replaced with a with his own selection, would have usually turned heads and undoubtedly would have usually probably including among some republicans. that would be met by some pushback here. but there's no indication so far that that is taking place. and so while democrats, you know, are forcefully pushing back

against the moves of this administration, president trump understands that the folks that are in this room are the very folks that propelled his candidacy. a third go around and elevated him to the white house. and now with elon musk standing there with the chainsaw, he feels like he's well positioned here to take this party in the continued direction that he has long advocated for. >> jeff, you talked about how america's allies are trying to figure out how to navigate and relate to and deal with this white house, but that's also true domestically of governors, senators, congressmen. and we had this incident yesterday. there was a contentious moment between the president and the governor of maine, janet mills, over transgender participation in sports. let's have a listen. >> is the main here the governor of maine? are you not going to comply with that? >> comply with state and federal laws? >> well, i'm we are the federal law. well, you better do it. you better do it because you're not going to get any federal funding

at all if you don't. every state. good. i'll see you in court. i look forward to that. >> jeff, is this an effective way for democrats to push ■back against trump, or are they going to find themselves in his ire and maybe even worse off than they were before they stood up for their their perspective on these things? >> well, it's hard for me. to say if it's effective. it's certainly. >> a unique opportunity when. >> you're in a room with the president of united states. >> and. >> he calls out your state, and if you're. >> the governor, you have. >> a chance to voice your opinion. so i have a. >> feeling some democrats. >> will be very pleased to see that and to see somebody standing up. to the president on, on an issue that is, is very. >> divisive in this country, but that democrats. >> have a. firm position on. certainly the governor of maine does. >> but more broadly, though, i mean, if when the president. >> starts cutting. >> off funding, that which. >> is what he's threatening. >> to do to maine, you know, that can have an impact on. multiple things. >> that. >> you know. >> could could hurt him politically, but could also

very. >> much. >> hurt the democratic leadership politically because it has an. >> impact. >> on constituents from both sides. >> all right. thank you, vaughn hillyard and jeff mason for joining us early this morning on a saturday. we appreciate it. and that does it for us this hour of msnbc i'm christina ruffini. don't go anywhere the weekend with alicia menendez michael steele and symone sanders. townsend is coming up sanders. townsend is coming up right with fatigue and light-headedness, i knew something was wrong. then i saw my doctor and found out i have afib, and that means there's about a 5 times greater risk of stroke. symptoms like irregular heartbeat, heart racing, chest pain, shortness of breath, fatigue, or light-headedness, can come and go. but if you have afib, the risk of stroke is always there. if you have one or more symptoms, get checked out. making that appointment can help you get ahead of stroke risk. this is no time to wait.

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