>> all right, folks, i need y'all to get yourselves together here because we've got some great guests lined up for you. tomorrow we're going to talk to nebraska democratic party chair jane kleeb, colorado attorney general philip weiser, and many more exciting guests will be with us. that starts right back here tomorrow at 8 a.m. eastern. and be sure to follow us on social media at the weekend. msnbc velshi continues our coverage live from miami. he's in miami. take it away, ali in miami. >> i'm i'm a i'm canadian. so i don't the cold stuff doesn't bother me. but it's been so cold in the northeast. i mean, that was my first thought was like, you guys are cold and i'm nice and warm. i don't really care about this stuff. i can get all the way through winter and just not care. but this this year i need a little bit of warmth here. so. but i got a lot of warmth out of your show, so i thank you for that and looking forward to tomorrow with you guys. >> all right my friend. >> all right. she starts now.

hey good morning. it's saturday, february the 22nd day 34 of donald trump's second term. and boy it has been an active and busy few days of the second term. we've been seeing purges across the government, including last night where the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, one of the country's top military leaders, has been removed from his job. it's general charles q, cq brown, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. that's the highest ranking military post in the country. brown was the only the second black person to hold that position, according to nbc news reporting. secretary of defense pete hegseth called the general last night to deliver the news. moments later, president trump posted a statement about brown's termination on social media. the president added that he intends to nominate the retired three star air force lieutenant general, dan raisin cain, as the next joint chiefs of staff to

replace brown. in his post, the president praised cain as a war fighter and said that he was, quote, instrumental in the complete annihilation of the isis caliphate. in all, six pentagon officials were fired last night. in addition to general brown, the administration dismissed the chief of naval operations, admiral lisa franchetti. she is the first woman to lead the navy. in his most recent book, published before he was nominated to serve in trump's defense cabinet, defense secretary pete hegseth derided franchetti's promotion, suggesting it was only because she was a woman. also fired last night, air force vice chief of staff general james slife and three jag judge advocate general, the top lawyers in the army, the navy and the air force. for more on this, i'm joined by the democratic congressman seth moulton of massachusetts. he's a member of the house armed services committee, former 2020 presidential candidate. he previously served as a marine corps officer in iraq. congressman, good to see you. thank you for being with us. you

put out a statement last night. you had some blunt criticism about the president firing general brown. let me just quote from it. you said dictators or wannabe kings, fire generals who don't agree with their politics. this isn't a banana republic. what trump and hegseth are doing is un-american, unpatriotic, and dangerous for our troops and our national security. this is the definition of politicizing our military, and we should expect to see loyalty oaths, not to the constitution and worse, coming soon. end quote. talk to me about this, because it's illega. >> well, it might not be illegal. there are a lot of things that trump does. >> that aren't. >> technically illegal, but they break the norms of our democracy. >> and the bottom. line is. >> that you. >> can't have. >> a democracy if the military, if the guys. >> with. >> the. guns are controlled by. >> political leaders and have loyalty. >> to a. >> political leader. >> not to the. >> u.s. constitution, this is

really foundational for. >> our republic. >> there's never been a president in. >> history who has tried to. politicize the military. >> like this. >> and of course, the. >> great. >> irony is that he says he's not politicizing the military. >> he says he's. >> politicizing the military. that's what hegseth wrote. >> about in his book. >> ali, this. >> is. >> the definition of politicizing our military. >> and that's dangerous. >> not only for our national. >> security. >> but for the. fundamental tenets. >> of our democracy. >> let's talk about how this normally works, particularly for the joint, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. typically it's a four year term, and they stay on through an administration change. it's typically staggered. the we hava civilian controlled military. so we believe that they should be accountable to public officials. but tell me why it's important to at least feel like it is not politicized. >> well, it matters a lot to the. troops. because. >> the. >> troops who are literally risking their lives on the ground, as i did in four tours

through four tours in iraq, we need to know that we are being. sent to war. risking our lives on behalf of the. country for principled goals of our democracy, not personal vendettas of a commander in chief. not because of what the commander in chief wants to do on a whim. and if the people who control the military, the high ranking officers, including the. advisor to the president, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, if that person is just political acting not in the interest of the united states, but in. >> the. >> interest of one man who wants to be king, then that breaks all trust with the troops. and if there's one thing that's. >> important in the. >> military, it's the very first thing you learn when you show up. it's trust. >> yeah. you are. you are putting your lives on the line and our, our men and women in uniform and those who support them are putting their lives on the line. they would like to know this isn't something done

for political reasons. congressman, good to see you as always. thank you for joining us. the democratic congressman seth moulton of massachusetts. all right. no one needed to be firing senior military staff last night. but that's what what both congress and the president should be working on is a budget. in fact, meeting at least once a year to appropriate funds that are collected as taxes by the government is congress's one constitutional responsibility. and that process is off to a very rough start. in the 119th congress, early friday morning, after an all night session, the senate, not the house, where the budget is supposed to start its tumultuous life, passed a budget largely along partizan lines. with one exception the sometimes libertarian senator kentucky from kentucky, rand paul, who voted with all democrats and independents against it. the senate budget has a lot of issues with it. despite all this talk of doge and eliminating waste and fraud, this budget isn't giving you more as a result. unless, of course, you earn a lot of money and you're in desperate need of a tax cut. it sure does spend a lot of your money on immigration enforcement

and the military. but chief among the senate budget's problems are that donald trump doesn't really like it. he likes the house version, which makes those tax cuts for the corporations and the rich permanent, and makes drastic cuts to pesky and expensive government programs like medicaid, medicare, and other programs that benefit tens of millions of americans, often those in need. the bulk of the senate republicans budget blueprint appropriates $175 billion for immigration enforcement and mass deportations, and it expands military spending by $150 billion. house republicans have a better or a trumpier if you will plan. the house plan increases spending of up to $110 billion for the judiciary committee, which oversees spending for ice. it also contains another $100 billion for military spending. but by far the centerpiece of the house budget resolution is extending president trump's 2017 tax cuts

and allowing up to $4.5 trillion in tax reductions over the next decade, which would benefit the wealthiest americans the most. and how do you pay for these tax cuts, you ask? easy. with up to $2 trillion in spending cuts, including major cuts to what's known as mandatory spending, mandatory spending isn't just that you have to do it. that's not the only thing that mandatory means. it refers to programs that have been created and mandated by law. programs like medicaid, medicare, social security, food assistance known as snap, and other benefit programs. the house budget blueprint blueprint specifically directs the energy and commerce committee to find at least $880 billion in cuts. why is that important? because that committee oversees the spending for medicaid and medicare, which means that a directive to slash the budget by nearly $1 billion is likely to affect one or both

of those programs. similarly, the house resolution directs the agriculture committee to cut at least $230 billion. now, you may say, what have i got to do with agriculture? but the bulk of the spending overseen by the agriculture committee involves the supplemental nutrition assistance program, snap food aid, what we used to know as food stamps. it's a program for lower income americans, which will also be a target for cuts. however, that committee's chairman, pennsylvania republican gt thompson, insisted last week that there will be no new cuts to snap cutting spending this way may be what a lot of republicans want to do, but it will be mighty unpopular. a number of house republicans, especially those in competitive districts, are already growing skittish over these proposals and the likely cuts to medicare, medicaid and other programs. as it stands, the house is framework would add $2.8 trillion to the deficit. all right. joining me now is the democratic congressman from

pennsylvania, brendan boyle. he's the ranking member on the house budget committee. and he's a member of the house ways and means committee. congressman boyle, good to see you. thank you for being with us this morning. i we can we can talk for hours and hours and hours and i'd love to about the budget and all the specifics about the process. but i think it's important for people to understand that the budget that donald trump says he wants is not the one that got passed overnight in the senate. it's one that is going to target some of the things that americans, particularly americans in need, use the most. >> yeah. >> that's right, alan, you. >> laid it out. >> perfectly, by. the way. >> that budget. >> which passed. >> the house. >> budget committee last. >> week. >> is slated to be. >> on. >> the house floor. >> on tuesday. >> and as you. >> laid out. >> contrary to what donald. trump said during. >> the. campaign and. >> continues to say. >> today, it. has $880. >> billion. worth of cuts to medicaid. >> these will be the biggest. cuts to medicaid in american history. there are 72 million americans who rely on medicaid.

but that's. not all. there will also be. >> cuts to. >> the aca or obamacare. >> that's another 20. >> million. >> plus americans who. >> rely and. get their. >> health care through the affordable. care act. >> so all. >> told, we are talking about. >> almost 100 million americans. >> suffering devastating cuts. >> to their. >> health coverage. >> and why. >> in order. >> to. >> be able. >> to somewhat. >> afford $4.5 trillion worth of tax cuts. >> almost all of which that. >> go. >> to the richest. >> 1% of americans. >> so talk to me about this, because this can't be popular. there's a reason why repeal and replace of obamacare didn't work is because they couldn't come up with a plan. as recently as the presidential election, when donald trump was asked, he said, well, i've got a concept of a plan. i've been working on this for ten years, and he's got a concept of a plan. they know this isn't popular. what? tell me. tell me how this plays out in your mind. >> yeah. so the opinion polls i've seen on the straight up. >> question.

>> do you support cuts. >> to medicaid. >> not even linking the cuts. >> to. >> medicaid to. pay for tax cuts. >> for the richest 1%. >> just the cuts to medicaid alone. >> more than. >> 80% of the american. >> people oppose that. >> so the way i. >> think the trump. >> white house and house republicans are going to deal with the remarkable unpopularity. >> of their. >> ideas is they're simply going to lie. >> donald trump this. >> past week said he would. and i'm quoting. >> love and. >> cherish medicaid. >> it's just. >> completely not true. we know what happens when donald trump promises to love and cherish anyone. >> or anything. he. >> of course, is lying. >> so i think that that is pretty. >> clearly the way they're going to continue to deal with it. and they will rely. >> on their. >> right wing media. >> ecosystem to continue to deceive people from the actual facts that are printed in black and white in the bill. >> so he said, i think i don't know if it's 12 hours between when he said he would love and cherish medicaid to when he said, i really you know, the senate bill is okay, but i

really want that house bill. the distinction, again, is the cuts to health care, community health centers, the affordable care act, things like that, for governmental purposes, for purposes of the constitution, your work is to come up with a budget. the budget is the priority of the government. so you can't say you love and cherish something, when in fact you're not willing to open your wallet and say, i love and cherish and will pay for this. >> yeah. >> that's exactly right. >> and you know, one thing. >> to highlight, because we had a 12. >> hour budget committee voting meeting. >> last thursday. started early morning, went to late at night right at the last minute. the house freedom caucus members on that committee snuck in an amendment that took this very bad bill and actually made. >> it worse. >> and what they said is. >> the original. >> bill said there must be at least a $1.5 trillion worth of cuts. their amendment raised that to. >> $2 trillion. >> so what i'm saying $880 billion to medicaid, hundreds. >> of. >> billions of dollars of cuts to the affordable care act cuts as you laid out to food stamps.

that's actually the bare minimum they have to on top of that, now. find $500 billion. worth of additional cuts to those programs. >> so again, all told, we were. >> talking about what would. >> be the. >> biggest cuts to medicaid. >> and other. >> programs in american history. >> congressman, good to see you. thank you for joining us. congressman brendan boyle, democrat of pennsylvania. all right. coming up, israel and hamas have completed the seventh and final hostage prisoner exchange of the first phase of the ceasefire deal. we'll discuss what comes next. plus, as president trump continues to attack ukrainian president volodymyr zelensky as a dictator who started the war, all false statements. by the way, the wounds are still fresh for the people of ukraine. i'll speak to a dear friend of our show, alexei goncharenko, a member of ukraine's parliament, in 2023. he walked me through the suburban town of bucha, the site of a notorious massacre of ukrainian civilians. today, he and his fellow countrymen are bracing for what comes next, as the trump administration is changing the calculus of the

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slots for free and get a 6 million coin bonus. make every day a winning day. >> we are continuing to follow breaking news out of the middle east right now. six hostages are back in israel after being released by hamas this morning. they were released piecemeal. two hostages were released first, then three more, and a short time later. the last hostage was turned over to idf custody. meanwhile, israel is set to release 620 palestinian prisoners and detainees as part of the deal. this includes 50 prisoners who were sentenced to life in prison. 60 prisoners with high sentences for journalists, and 445 people who were taken from gaza since october 7th, 2023. this hostage prisoner exchange is said to be the last one for phase one of the cease fire deal. let's go to nbc's hala gorani, who is on the ground in tel aviv. good afternoon to you. what's the situation now? these phase one is over. does that mean we're

headed to phase two? >> well, it doesn't necessarily mean we're headed to phase two either now or in the future. it depends really entirely on whether on both sides, hamas and the israeli government are willing to press ahead with that process. stage two would see the release according to the agreement of the remaining live hostages, who are military men, as well as hamas, sending back the remains of hostages who died in captivity. now, what we saw today were those kind of stage managed hamas productions. we saw one in rafah with the release of two hostages there a few hours later in nuseirat. that's in central gaza, central northern gaza. we saw three more hostages released. the bedouin israeli man was released a little bit later and not paraded on stage. we saw some emotional

reunions between the hostages who were released today, and family members in israeli hospitals. but what we haven't seen, ali, are palestinian prisoners released so far? now, as you mentioned, more than 600 were meant to be set free. we haven't seen that. we're hearing from israeli media that there seems to be some delay in that process. not exactly sure why, but this is where we are right now. and as you mentioned, this is the last release of hostages alive in phase one. big questions still surrounding the next stage. back to you, ali. >> all right. when you get word of the palestinian detainees and prisoners released, let us know late in the day for that to happen. because typically by now, on a saturday, that second part would have happened. thank you. we appreciate that. hala gorani for us in tel aviv. all right. coming up, president trump has declared himself king as he bullied the city of new york and now the whole state into submission. we'll talk

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up another front in his war on america's system of checks and balances, and the separation of powers between federal, state and local authorities, targeting the principle of state sovereignty, which is enshrined in the 10th amendment, which reads, the powers not delegated to the united states by the constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states, respectively, or to the people. end quote. now, for many americans watching this dramatic showdown between trump and new york officials, there's a mix of amusement and disbelief. after facing backlash for his fights with new york, in which the new york governor described him as acting like a king, trump declared on social media, quote, long live the king. his administration further trolled the american people by using official white house channels to post a fake magazine cover depicting trump wearing a crown. the whole thing reads like a joke, except this is real life. this is the nation's president declaring himself king as he bullies first a city, then a state into submission. every

crack in the armor of federalism, the philosophy around which this country was formed at independence, brings us closer to autocracy. it's not out of the realm of possibility to now imagine the federal government declaring any policy that it doesn't favor to be an emergency. that must be solved by the federal government. perhaps a federal government that doesn't just cut quid pro quo deals with the mayor, or override a state governor, but one which deploys federal troops to our cities to crush state opposition and solve whatever it deems to be an emergency. and if you think this is a stretch, i get it. but i want you to zoom out for a moment and consider what's happening in the broader context of donald trump's strategy. he's removed critics from office. he's defunded federal programs. he's sick, the justice department against his critics. he's used the justice department to protect his supporters and potentially illegally frozen billions of dollars in spending that has been approved by congress. trump is systematically toppling the dominoes of checks and balances, usurping congress's power,

de-legitimizing the judiciary and rejecting federalism, all things that were designed by the framers of the constitution to prevent absolute executive power, which was held by the king, which they didn't like. just this week, trump escalated his unconstitutional power grab by signing an executive order that claims the authority to seize control of independent federal agencies agencies that were specifically set up to be insulated from political pressures. these include the federal election commission, the securities and exchange commission, the national labor relations board. that order is sure to face a legal challenge as an overreach of presidential authority. but breaking the law might very well be the point. trump's sweeping power grab is designed to advance a radical legal doctrine called the unitary executive theory, which envisions vast executive authority for the president free from interference by congress or the courts. every move on the

chessboard is aimed at consolidating absolute control in the hands of the president. trump is deliberately setting the stage for a supreme court showdown, where he knows he has a receptive audience among its ultra conservative judges. according to the brennan center, the unitary executive theory is a fancy way of saying that a chief executive can rule over the executive branch like a monarch. end quote. prominent legal historian frank bowman called it, quote, an open declaration of dictatorship, end quote. as one analyst puts it, the only difference between what trump is doing and a monarchy is that kings inherit their power. and by the way, don't think that the 22nd amendment, which limits a president to two terms, isn't next on the chopping block. already, at least one maga judge has given credence to the idea of overturning presidential term limits, despite overwhelming legal consensus that it would be unconstitutional and anti-democratic to the core. while congress appears to have consented to this broader takeover, and some judges

actively work to hold the line, the american people have stepped up. building organized resistance in all 50 states. we are in the eye of the storm, but generations before us in america have weathered their own storms. america's story, above all, is a struggle against tyranny, an underdogs fight against goliath. time and again, it was the people who redeemed america's soul. from suffrage to the stonewall riots to the civil rights movement, to the black lives matter, where ordinary americans risked their physical safety to confront injustice from the underground railroad, where ordinary americans stationed across the republic and with the help of their canadian neighbors, risked everything to lead enslaved people to freedom, to gettysburg, where thousands fought and died, to preserve the union and end slavery for good. all the way back to the nation's first revolt against tyranny, the boston tea party, when grassroots resistance rose up against the english monarchy two years before the revolutionary war, would officially repudiate rule by the king. this country

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story. professor roosevelt, good to see you. thank you for being with us. look, a lot of people are following this new york story, and they're concerned about the quid pro quo and the goofiness of the whole thing. and the borders are going on. fox with eric adams. i'm not concerned with that stuff that's bad. and the courts can can determine that. i'm a little more worried about what else this signals about what the federal government thinks it can do in realms that we have generally accepted as citizens. the federal government does not have a role. >> yeah. >> so what we're seeing here is really the erosion and the overthrow of all. >> of the barriers that our constitution set up to protect us against monarchical tyranny. >> so, you know, if. >> you want. >> the basic question. >> why. >> does the. >> american revolution start? it's because we don't want a king. and in order to prevent us from having a king, the. >> constitution separates powers within the federal government. >> we've seen the. >> party system destroys that. you know, when the republican party turns. >> into the cult. >> of trump. >> that's gone. >> but it also separates powers. >> between the federal government and the states and

the states and the founders vision are. really the bulwark of liberty. they're what's going to hold back. >> that threat of tyranny. and that's what we're seeing under. >> attack now. >> in a way. >> that we haven't seen. you know, for a long time. >> what what are the consequences of that? i mean, obviously, we've seen states stand up against the federal government so we can see the benefits of it. but what happens once you you soften people up for the idea that the president or the executive branch or the president's cronies in the executive branch of the department of justice have a role to play in making determinations in new york city, whether it's about what the mayor does or access to rikers island or congestion fees, how how bad can that slippery slope get? >> well, it's bad, you know, because it's just fundamentally contrary to our system of government and our philosophy of government, which is separated and divided powers. and one of the points of. that is you get zones of liberty where people with different views and different policies can pursue those policies and coexist. but if the federal government can reach into all of the areas of

state authority. >> if the federal. >> government can compel state. >> officials to. >> do its will. which is what they're doing with. >> eric adams, there's. >> a carrot. >> and stick. >> it's very clear. >> they're trying to keep him under their thumb. then there's no place left. there's no. >> place that's outside. >> the scope. >> of the power. >> of the king. >> russell vote, who is the architect of project 2025? he's now the head of the office of management and budget in the white house. he has really been pushing this idea of a unitary executive theory. and i've spoken to other constitutional experts and lawyers who say it's not really a thing. it's a it's almost like a it's a belief system, but it's not really a thing. but talk to me about it. what is this unitary executive theory? how does it become part of our law and what would it do? >> well, the idea of the unitary executive is really just that. the executive branch is one thing and there's. >> one person in charge and that's. >> the president. so the president. >> can. completely direct the activities of the executive branch, which. >> doesn't sound crazy. >> if i. >> put it that way. probably

until. >> you. >> realize how much in conflict it is with the system of government that we're used to. >> because we have independent agencies, we have experts. running things. >> we have the federal. >> reserve. >> we have the fbi that is supposed to not. >> be under. >> the political control of the president. so a lot of our government. >> is supposed to. function sort of independently. >> and that's what the unitary. >> executive theory is going against. >> it wants to take away. independence from all of these agencies. >> all. >> of these experts, law enforcement, the economy. >> and put all of that under the control of one person. >> the president. >> and a week ago, and i don't know whether this fits into the unitary executive theory or this is just donald trump who's been referring to himself as a king. a week ago, he he took a sort of a butchered a napoleon quote, and he put a post out in which he said, he who saves his country does not violate any laws. franco had used a version of that. mussolini has used a version of that. hitler has used a version of that. it may be nothing. it may be just

nonsensical stuff that donald trump posts to get us all to go down a rabbit hole and find out where the quote came from. or it could be something. >> well, you know. >> it's tempting to think that. >> it's nothing. it's tempting to think trump doesn't really understand. >> the. >> historical resonance of what he's saying. but, you know, it. >> all does keep pointing in the. >> same direction, which is basically absolute power. >> consolidated in one person. and this is the theme. >> that he ran. >> on before. >> you know. >> only i. can fix this. >> i'm the only person who. >> can save you. give me all. >> of the power you know, and you won't regret it. and i will run roughshod over. >> all of the barriers that. >> are supposed to protect your individual liberty. and in the end, you'll thank me for it because i'm. >> saving you. but i. >> think people are. >> starting to see. >> that what they're getting is not exactly. >> what they wanted, because we live in the real world. >> and not in trump's fantasy world. >> kermit roosevelt, good to see you as always. thank you for joining us. kermit roosevelt is a professor of constitutional law at the university of pennsylvania and an award winning author of the book, the nation that never was. all right, still to come, the story of a ukrainian author who was known for cheerful children's books. but when russia invaded,

he started documenting the brutal realities of the war. knowing he might not survive, he buried the transcript under a cherry tree. and he was right. he was soon captured and killed by russian forces. but what happens next is even more unbelievable the remarkable story of a ukrainian author's last manuscript, and its impact on a movement of reading and writing as resistance, is the subject of a very special meeting of the book club this morning and tomorrow. if you're a loyal velshi fan, then you remember nastia spot. i met the ukrainian teenager in poland when her family fled at the beginning of the war. she had dreams of going to college and eventually returning to her home. well, i'm happy to report she has achieved both of those dreams. we'll check in with nastia tomorrow at 10 a.m. eastern. >> when you're the official vehicles of winter, you can. >> embrace everything the cold has to offer. >> leave fresh. tracks with. >> the. >> safe and secure. >> jeep grand cherokee. >> melt limitations with our most capable jeep wrangler ever,

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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. coming to knock on your. >> front door? >> t for president trump's first 100 days. alex wagner travels to the story to talk with people most impacted by the policies. >> were you. >> there on january? >> i was there on january 6th. >> did it surprise you that you were fired. given how resolutely. nonpartisan you have been? >> and for more in depth reporting, follow her podcast, trumpland with alex wagner. >> president trump now says that ukrainian president volodymyr zelensky is not, quote, very

important to be at meetings end quote, when it comes to negotiating an end to the war in ukraine. let me repeat that. trump doesn't think it's important for the president of ukraine to be involved in meetings about ending the russian invasion of ukraine. trump made those comments yesterday on a fox radio news show. then he. president trump talked about his desire to abandon ukraine and coddle vladimir putin. that exploded into public view this week. on tuesday at mar a lago, president trump attempted to rewrite the 2022 invasion of ukraine by claiming zelensky was the one who started the war. >> you've been there for three years. you should have ended it three years. you should have never started it. you could have made a deal. >> let me be clear. russia invaded ukraine three years ago tomorrow, a sovereign, democratic nation. putin made false claims about ukraine and nato to justify his invasion. zelensky didn't start this war at all. president zelensky responded, saying president trump is surrounded by disinformation. trump then hit

back with a long and scathing post on truth social, riddled with inaccuracies and this, quote, a dictator without elections, zelensky better move fast or he's not going to have a country left. end quote the dictator without elections. zelensky, a democratically elected president, was up for reelection last year. but because ukraine is under martial law due to the war, the election was postponed, which typically happens under martial law because elections are hard to hold under conditions. when troops are fighting away from home and their families are abroad. zelensky has long agreed to holding elections after the war. opposition leaders in ukraine support that idea. while trump was sparring with zelensky, his administration began talks with russia. a three man team of secretary of state marco rubio, national security advisor mike wallace and special envoy ambassador steve witkoff met with russian foreign minister sergey lavrov in saudi arabia, of all places, last tuesday. not on the list was president zelensky or any ukrainian official, for that matter, keith kellogg, trump's handpicked envoy to kyiv, wasn't

there either, which is significant because kellogg is the strongest voice for ukraine in the trump administration. he and zelenskyy did meet in kyiv on thursday, and on friday, kellogg called the ukrainian president, quote, embattled and a courageous leader. but as the united states and russia negotiated, one congressional official who spoke to nbc said, quote, we have zero intelligence that putin is interested in a real peace deal right now. end quote. while the trump administration leaves ukraine out in the cold during direct peace talks with russia, trump is working on another deal with the ukrainian government. last week, the u.s. presented ukraine with a proposal ukraine would give the u.s. up to 50% of its raw mineral supply in exchange for u.s. support in the war. ukraine's deposits of critical minerals are replete with aluminum, gallium and titanium, which are critical for manufacturing things like semiconductors and other technology. zelenskyy said on social media yesterday that the two governments were working on a draft agreement. all of this as we approach the third

anniversary of russia's invasion of the country. all of trump's comments minimize the pain that's being felt by ukrainians who have done nothing to deserve military occupation or the terror that the russian invasion has brought. take bucha, for example, a small ukrainian town which became a symbol of the brutal humanitarian cost of the war. it was the site of a russian massacre. hundreds of civilian bodies scattered through the streets, some shot from behind with their hands tied behind their backs, some rigged with explosives, some burned, others found in mass graves. the new york times spoke to the residents of bucha this week, a widow who watched as russian soldiers executed her husband said this, quote, the thing i'm most afraid of is that they will say we are guilty ourselves, that we are guilty of killing ourselves. end quote i visited russia in 2023, one year after the war broke out. i saw a community stuck between rebuilding from the last bomb and awaiting the next air raid siren. i walked the town with

the ukrainian member of parliament, alexei goncharenko, and witnessed the weight of this war with my own eyes. aleksey goncharenko joins me after a quick commercial break. we'll be quick commercial break. we'll be right back. (psst psst) ahhhh... with flonase, allergies don't have to be scary spraying flonase daily gives you long-lasting, non-drowsy relief. (psst psst) flonase. all good. sono bella one visit fat removal. i wanted the results of a tummy tuck, but not the down time. i'm so happy. >> i'm loving life. i'm loving my body. i'm loving all my loose fitting clothes. >> my waist. >> is contoured. my belly is flat. >> there's no. >> boots anymore. >> schedule your free. >> schedule your free. >> no. hayden: the fact st. jude will take care of all this,

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>> explore your treatment options. >> and. >> connect with the provider at. >> said that they want to rebuild everything. they will rebuild everything. >> they will. >> change everything.

>> they will work. >> the ukraine is. >> the best place to live in. >> thank you. >> and thank you for this. that was bucha, ukraine february 2023. we met a salon owner whose home and business were occupied by russian forces. she was forced to live side by side with them until they left the city of bucha. the man with me in that clip is alexei goncharenko. he joins me now. he's a member of the ukrainian parliament. alexei, it is good to see you again. i'm sorry we're not together in person, but i wanted to talk to you about what you made of the discussions that have been going on for the last two weeks about how to end the war in ukraine, the discussions with russia that don't involve ukraine, and how ukrainians are seeing this. >> first of all. >> it's very. >> it's great. >> to see you again, and thank. >> you very much. >> that you. >> are covering. >> us still. >> covering our story. >> that's very important. >> because it. >> looks like. >> many people. >> already forgot. >> what had happened. >> what a.

>> brutal invasion, what a. >> crime of aggression against our country. >> absolutely unjustified aggression against and killing of. hundreds of thousands of people. and the humanitarian. >> crisis begins from the second world war. and unfortunately, it's crazy how. >> quickly, just in three. >> years. >> we now hear some other things. >> about who is. >> guilty and what's happening and all. >> this stuff. >> speaking about last two weeks, you know. >> we as. >> ukrainians, we want. >> peace more. >> than anybody else, you know, because we are dying every day. >> still. >> after three years. >> of. >> full scale invasion and more than ten. >> years of. >> russian war against. >> us. >> which started in 2014, and we are still in fight and we want peace. but this peace should be a real peace, not a ceasefire. >> so it should be accompanied with. >> security guarantees, which will prevent russia from attacking. >> again, which. >> they will definitely do if. there will be no such guarantee.

>> and it also. >> should be. >> as much fair. >> as possible. after all. >> suffering with ukrainian. people came through. >> let's talk about this side thing that's going on. you you tweeted about this minerals agreement. there's been a lot of talk by american officials, particularly donald trump, jd vance and others about, you know, ukraine needs to pay us back for the war. so a couple of things of the aid that the that ukraine has received from the united states, about 70% of it is spent right here in the united states building armaments or weaponry. but that said, i think everybody understands that when this war ends, everybody who was involved in it is going to be involved in the redevelopment of, of ukraine. and. and everybody will get their, their, their, their piece of this thing. however, you believe that if it takes this mineral deal to get done to guarantee u.s. support, it's something you're prepared to go along with. >> yeah. >> the main thing is we don't know. >> what exactly.

>> will be. >> in the deal. so we have a lot of. >> rumors. >> we have a lot of things, but we don't have a document for. >> the moment. >> as a member of the parliament. >> as a as ukrainian. >> citizen. >> i can give you my personal view on this today. so my personal view on this is next, we. are ready to work with americans to produce our minerals and everything else. we are very thankful to american people. >> for. >> all support. >> we. received during this. >> three years and. before this. >> and definitely it will be. great to have americans with. >> us working. >> together in economic cooperation. >> so i'm absolutely. >> all in, you know, this idea. >> but when i. >> hear that, it will. >> be kind of a bill. >> which is giving post-factum for what was before given free of charge. and as you said, produced in the united states. and what is important, it was not ukraine who choose what to receive. it was the united states. of america. >> who. >> decided what. >> to give us. so it doesn't happen like.

>> this when you buy. >> right? >> so it's usually happening. >> in other way. >> so this. >> this gives me a lot of concerns. so i want to understand what will be finally in this deal. >> once again. >> we need american support. we can't lose american support. >> it's crucial. >> for us. >> but it should be fair. >> to ukrainian people that. that's that's the only. thing which i'm interested in. one more thing which i please ask not to forget to american people that. supporting ukraine in many things why it's important for common values, international law and so on. i will not go to this, but i will just remind one thing. in 1994, ukraine voluntarily gave up nuclear. weapons under. pressure from the united states of america. we gave it to russians. we received security guarantees. where are these guarantees today? if we would have nukes, we would never be attacked. and all this horror and all these tragedies would never happen. but we did it. but

now it's time for the united states also to support her. so it's not a charity. it was a responsibility taken by the united states in 1994. i understand that many people change presidents, congressmen, senators, but it's the same united states of america. and if united states wants the world to look at the united states as a reliable partner, you should you should follow your responsibilities. that's something, again, with all respect, and we are very thankful. but please don't forget about this. >> yeah. >> that was an actual memorandum, wasn't a handshake 1994 the budapest memorandum. it was a it was a it was an internationally sanctioned agreement that ukraine remains sovereign if it gives up its nuclear weapons. so that is a deal that was broken in 2013. yeah. and correct. so you're absolutely right about that, alexi. i'm grateful to see you again. i hope the next time we meet is in ukraine again. alexi

goncharenko is a member of ukraine's parliament. thank you. coming up, another hour of a beloved ukrainian children's book author started writing about the realities of war when russian troops invaded his village. the story of his last work, a manuscript he literally buried underground to protect it from hostile occupying forces, is a story of reading and writing as resistance, like you have never heard it before. that's ahead. in a special meeting of the banned book club, another hour of velshi begins right now. good morning. it's saturday, february the 22nd day 34 of donald trump's second term. we begin this morning with the friday night firings of some of the country's top military leaders. as president trump looks to shake things up at the pentagon. last night, the trump administration fired three of the nation's top military officials, including general charles c q brown, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. he's the highest ranking