>> that'll do it for me. thanks for watching. tune in tomorrow to the sunday show when congresswoman jasmine crockett of texas joins us to discuss elon musk's agenda and latest ultimatum to federal workers. i'll also speak with mitch landrieu, former adviser to president biden, about how democrats should respond all of this tomorrow at 6 p.m. eastern, right here on msnbc. keep it here. ayman is next. >> good evening. tonight on ayman. >> with. >> a purge at the pentagon and a big speech at cpac. the stage is set for an authoritarian remodel. >> of america. >> also tonight. >> the looming. >> risk of a government shutdown. all because republicans can't work together. and we speak to the father of eden alexander, the last living american hostage in gaza, about the uncertainty surrounding the next phase of the cease fire. i'm ayman mohyeldin. let's do it.

it's that time of year again where conservatives gather for their right wing version of comic con, called cpac. president trump took the stage today to deliver his greatest hits. in his first address to the convention since becoming president again in. you'll be shocked to know that his speech was rather out there, even by his own standards. >> i said define reconstruction for me, he said. that means essentially the civil war. that's a long. that's a long time. i couldn't stand it. don't get angry, donald. don't get angry, please. every single thing he touched turned to. okay. we are also going to fort knox. i'm going to go with elon because we want to see if the gold is still there. tariff is now my fourth favorite word. >> that unhinged celebration of all things. maga isn't terribly new to cpac, but this year's

conference comes at an ominous time as trump and his allies work to remake the government in trump's image. trump now has a key ally in giving the fbi its maga makeover with its new director, kash patel, who was sworn in on friday. patel, of course, is a trump loyalist. he now leads the very agency that he once claimed planned. january 6th. he celebrated his swearing in by attacking the press. >> i know the media is in here and if you have a target. >> that targets right here, it's. >> not the men and women at the fbi. you've written everything. >> you possibly can about. >> me that's fake, malicious. >> slanderous and defamatory. keep it coming. bring it on. >> and now that trump has a sycophant over at the fbi, he has his sights on the us military. last night, trump fired chairman of the joint chiefs of staff cq brown jr, the country's highest ranking military officer. this comes amid a wave of administration shakeups, including air force lieutenant general jennifer

short, secretary pete hegseth, senior military aide, who we learned was just removed from the job, effective immediately, according to two us officials. now, when it comes to brown, he had long been a target of trump's defense secretary, who actually called for his firing last year. >> you got. >> to fire the chairman of joint chiefs and you got to fire this. i mean, obviously, you bring in a new secretary of defense, but any general that was involved, general, admiral, whatever that was involved in, any of the die woke, it's got to go. >> now, the former fox host turned defense secretary also suggested in his recent book that brown may have gotten his job based on his race. he wrote in part, quote, was it because of his skin color or his skill? we'll never know, but always doubt which on its face seems unfair to cq. but since he has played the race card one of his biggest calling cards, it doesn't really matter. and who is set to be brown's replacement, you might ask? well, trump picked this guy. his air force lieutenant general dan raisin cain. trump has

repeatedly given cain shout outs over the past years at where else but cpac. in fact, at trump's cpac speech last year, trump claimed that cain put on a maga hat while meeting with him during a visit to iraq. cain has told aides that he has never put on a maga hat, but this perfectly fits with the theme that we have seen at this week's cpac an embrace of authoritarianism and total fealty to trump. here's new attorney general pam bondi, who broke norms by attending this convention and giving a partizan pro-trump speech as the attorney general. and not to mention support at the convention by republican activists who want to break with the constitution by letting trump run for a third term. here's what steve bannon had to say about that. >> we want trump in 2008. that's what they can't stand. a man like trump comes along only. >> once or twice. >> in. >> the country's history. >> we'd also be remiss not to bring up this bizarre cpac moment from first buddy elon

musk. >> oh. >> this is. the chainsaw for bureaucracy. >> chainsaw. >> ooh. ooh. >> chainsaw. >> that cringe moment came courtesy of argentinian president javier mayol, who gifted musk with the so-called doge chainsaw. we're also told he met with trump today on the sidelines of cpac. it would be one thing to just laugh at what essentially has become this maga comic-con of sorts, but cpac actually goes far beyond silly theater. it's now a gathering place for those who have true contempt for the democracy we have, at least we have for now. let's bring in my panel for this conversation. joining me now, christina greer, associate professor of political science at fordham university and author of the book how to build a democracy from fannie lou hamer and barbara jordan to stacey abrams and former republican

congressman joe walsh, host of the white flag with joe walsh podcast. good to have both of you with us. christina, we'll start with you. i mean, we've been covering cpac for years. it is not new. it's been very pro trump since he came into politics in 2015. this year, though, between, if you want to call it a roman salute or a nazi salute, the chainsaw, the attack on migrants and immigrants, it feels a little bit darker. as i mentioned, with the calls for trump getting basically a presidency for life, or at least a third term. >> absolutely, eamon. >> but it is exactly what they promised. >> i mean, if. >> we think about. >> not just project. >> 2025, but every. >> single thing. >> that donald trump said during. >> the campaign season, this is exactly what we should expect. he said he wanted to take over not just, you know. >> the three branches of government. >> he wanted to have the doj and the. military and the. fbi and the list goes on and on. and sadly, we're not seeing enough republicans, especially in. elected office, standing up for

our country at this moment. and so we've got elon musk, who, you know, the list can go on about how problematic. elon musk is. and i'm hopeful that democrats are looking at this moment and having some conversations about articulating a message to the american public about how dangerous this really is. we cannot, you know, say that, oh, it's just unprecedented. and it seems a little racist. we actually have nazis running the government right now. we actually have nazi salutes. you know, we can call it roman handshake or whatever you want. we actually have people who believe in white supremacy right now. and so anyone who is a person of color or a woman or someone who is in the lgbtq plus community, they're automatically unqualified for the job. i mean, it's absolutely absurd. and donald trump is rolling back, i would say 75 years of hard work of several americans, primarily black americans, who have tried to move this country forward. so we're in this moment that we knew we would enter into, and

it's far too many people in this country who don't see it as the reality. they're still on the sidelines, and far, far too many republicans who are going to wake up one day and recognize that everything is shifted under their feet. there are only a small number of republicans who are actually going to get the real grift and the money that is promised to them, and i just, i i'm at a loss as to how quickly this is happening. we've always had progress and regress in this country, but donald trump is living up to every single thing he promised during the entire election season. >> yeah, and we're just a little over a month into this administration. 47 more months to go. joe, as a former republican, what is it like to see this party not just embrace donald trump, which is what we have seen slowly over the last ten years, but also now embrace this kind of authoritarianism, this this desire for, you know, a third trump presidency. i mean, where do you see this moment going for the republican party from here on out?

>> hey, amy, it used to make me cry. >> literally cry. >> as i. >> watched what was. >> happening, what's. >> been happening to my former. >> political party. >> but now. >> it just. >> pisses me off. >> every word christina said. >> and more. i would. >> quibble a. >> little bit. >> eamon, with what you said. >> at the top. >> i used to speak. >> at cpac. >> way back. >> in the day. >> when there. >> actually were conservatives. >> who went there. >> and you. >> and i would go on. tv and you. >> and. >> i. >> would actually debate. >> and argue about issues. >> remember those great old days? these aren't conservatives. these are authoritarians. they want. >> a damn. >> dictator in the white house. and i think that's what. >> america needs. >> to wake up to. look. >> trump, as. >> christina said. >> trump is doing everything. he said. >> he was. >> going to do. nobody should be surprised. >> and republicans are laying down like they said they would do. but this is what the republican voter. wants. and america needs to. >> wake up to that.

>> and i'm not. >> a democrat yet. >> but oh my. >> god, i need an opposition party. because again, to. >> what christina. >> said, this. >> can't be accepted. >> we have a. >> dictator in the white house. >> who is trying. >> to tear. >> this country down. i need people. >> screaming about that. >> yeah. and we'll talk a little bit more about the opposition party and what democrats can be doing. but, christina, let me get your thoughts on the firing of general c.q. brown jr. as chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. a what do you think is really going on here? and is this simply about trump wanting a loyalist in his place? >> i think it's multiple things, eamon. one trump definitely wants loyalists. you know, we know that the staggering of some of these positions is such that they aren't hyper partizan. but we also know that this president only sees african americans as athletes or entertainers. he really does struggle with seeing african americans in positions of power, of anything, of worth or of note. and so this is part

of his long, long standing perception of high ranking black americans, whether it's in government or finance, and the list goes on and on. and so the firing of cq brown, the promotion of a retired three star, not four star, three star general who may or may not be a sycophant, goes part of the playbook that donald trump promised. we know that any person of color, donald trump, and you know, the people he surrounds himself with have automatically said, you know, think about hegseth and his speech and his book. they've automatically said, well, they obviously don't belong there because he must have gotten there because of dei, which they keep shortening, which is diversity, equity and inclusion to undo the systematic exclusion that white men have done for centuries in this country. so here we are with the firing of someone who's served his country in ways that donald trump could never even imagine doing. so. and the republican party is just saying, well, you know, we just

need to get rid of wokism, which is beyond anti-intellectual. it is absolutely not true. we can look at the general's record and see how he has served this nation in ways that no one in donald trump's orbit has even done. and so the disrespect for the people who have served this country. we see it with the cutting of veterans affairs. we see it the way donald trump talks about our military. but obviously the disrespect of people who have served in the military for decades and to just dismiss them because he doesn't think that they'll be sycophants, and he just assumes that they're there because of quote, unquote. dei is one of the true, i think, disgusting aspects of this new donald trump 2.0 presidency. >> joe, let me get your thoughts on first buddy elon musk. i mean, for now, it seems trump is fine with him. in fact, he said on truth social today that musk needs to be more aggressive. how does that relationship end? will donald trump discard of musk once he no longer needs him?

>> i don't think so. i mean, i think. >> they. >> are in this for the long run. >> i think musk. >> takes a lot. >> of heat off of. >> donald trump. look, let's be clear. and again, i agree with everything. christina said. i mean. >> what do you. >> call it? >> what do you call. >> it when you have a super qualified black general and you fire him. >> to hire a. >> much less qualified. >> white general? >> what do you call that? >> look, this is donald. >> trump telling the american people he's going to break the law. he's putting his guy in charge of the fbi, the justice department, our intelligence community, and now our military. he's putting people in charge of these agencies who will do exactly what he tells them to do. >> when he. >> breaks the law. that's what he's telling us he's going to do. >> all right. christina. joe, please stick around. we've got a lot more to discuss. next up, we're going to talk about the fact that we are barreling toward yet another government shutdown due to the fact that republicans who control the house, the senate and the white

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>> nutrafol is life changing for me. >> get growing@nutrafol.com. >> republicans control the white house. they control the house. they control the senate. but they cannot get on the same page to prevent a government shutdown in three weeks, senate republicans have passed a budget resolution calling for a $150 billion increase in military spending and $175 billion more

for border security over the next decade. you think that would be the end of it? however, on the house side, republicans are struggling to pass its proposals, which includes an extension of trump's tax cuts for the wealthy and cutting programs like, you guessed it, medicaid. not helping the matter is the mixed messaging coming from their dear leader, donald trump. the president has sided with house republicans endorsing the bill, calling for cuts to medicaid. his support of the house gop plan flies in the face of his campaign promises, and directly contradicts what he told sean hannity just this week. >> medicare, medicaid, none of that stuff is going to be touched. >> nothing i. >> want to have to now, if there are illegal migrants in the system, we're going to get them out of the system. all of that fraud, but it's not going to be touched. >> all right. christina and joe are back with me. joe, your thoughts on this? i mean, what do you make of this split between what he said to sean hannity, what he said on the

campaign trail, which was very clear that he was not going to cut medicaid. and yet he is now endorsing a house plan that specifically cuts medicaid. >> eamon. >> i'm. >> sorry. >> trump's an idiot. >> i don't think. he knows. >> what medicaid is. >> i don't think he knows the difference between medicaid and medicare. i really, honestly don't. look, the republicans are up the creek here and they are not going to be able to keep the government funded. they're not going to be able to pass a budget on their own. and my message to democrats, eamon, is really clear. as you said, republicans own everything. leave them alone, democrats, damn it. do not help them. mike johnson and the republicans are going to need democratic support in the house. democrats should say, no way. the government's yours. >> christina, let me play for you what the commerce secretary, howard lutnick, said on fox. this is the day after trump said medicaid wouldn't be touched. watch.

>> you know, social security. >> is wrong. you know, medicaid and. >> medicare are wrong. so he's going to cut. >> a trillion, and then we're. >> going to get rid of all these. >> tax scams that hammer against. >> america, and we're going to raise. >> $1 trillion. >> of revenue. and our objective under donald trump is to balance this budget. >> which is it? medicaid won't be touched or it's wrong. >> right? i mean, they have no messaging and no strategy. i mean, you know, if you think that donald trump won't lie to your face, then i've got a bridge and a sack of beans to sell you. sadly, though, you know, this is where republicans are painting themselves in a corner because they are getting phone calls from people within their districts saying, well, i know you all said you weren't going to touch medicaid at all, but this is what we're hearing, and where is the money going to come from? and we know that even when donald trump has unified government, that means the republican party controls the house, the senate and the executive branch. he prefers executive orders. he does not understand, nor does he respect the legislative process. it

takes a lot of time and negotiations. and so i agree with joe wholeheartedly. democrats love coming to the table in a good faith effort time and time again when republicans refuse to do the same, even when they're given almost everything that they want. so let the republicans suss this out. it is incredibly heartbreaking that americans might have to experience a government shutdown. we know that that trickles down in communities in really adverse ways, but we might have to actually force the republicans to the table to actually make a decision and say, are you with the president and cutting medicaid or not? because this is millions upon millions of americans lives. and so, so many people who voted for donald trump refuse to recognize that? >> joe, just to go to christina's point here for a moment, you know, trump's already vulnerable, you know, from an early data viewpoint, there's this new gallup poll that shows his approval rating on the economy stands at 42%, the lowest in recent history for a new president. of course, trump says he has the highest poll numbers he's ever had. it's simply not true. you've been in

elected politics a do polls this early even matter, especially for a president who for now cannot run again? i mean, these these other members of congress, these senators who do have an election either in two years or four years from now and have to deliver to their constituents, may not want to go down with donald trump as his approval rating continues to drop. >> no, eamon. >> that's why i. >> think when. >> it comes to the. budget stuff. >> and keeping. >> the government funded in march, trump's in a lot of trouble with his republicans because my former freedom caucus buddies, they're not going to give in on this. so republicans and they will not give in to trump because they've got to run again in a couple of years. but but look, donald trump got elected because. >> he. >> said, i'm going to bring down the price of eggs on day one, which was all bs. but he hasn't done anything in his first month, month and a half on the prices of anything. he's been

focused on dei and all this culture war bs, and so you're beginning to get even a lot of his supporters who are saying, hey, wait a minute, mr. president. you're not you aren't doing anything on the economy. this is going to bite him a little bit. >> yeah. i mean, he promised christina that he'd lower inflation on day one. he has not done that yet. he's reportedly growing more and more frustrated over not being able to lower grocery prices, as he has promised to do. what's the opening here for democrats? i know that you were saying when it comes to the budget issue, they should let the republicans own this completely. but what is the opening for democrats, especially if trump's policies end up hurting the people who elected him? >> the democrats have to come up with an articulation of the problem and also their solutions. i mean, we know that donald trump is famous for creating a problem and then creating a solution. it's like you created this solution for the problem that you created. how? why? i think democrats have to figure out how they're going

to walk the american people through their their strategy, because donald trump did not get elected on a mandate. he squeaked by. if you look at the numbers and the percentages of people who actually participated, he is not coming in with a wave of support. he says he is. but per usual, just because you say something doesn't make it necessarily true. so it is incumbent upon democrats to figure out, do you need a 50 state strategy? do you need a whole party strategy? do you have a strategy for local politics versus state level politics? i don't know, i'm not an elected official, but we do know that all 435 members of the house are up for reelection, and it is an opportunity for democrats to take back some of those purple seats that turned in 2024. >> we're starting to see this kind of percolation, jo, of anger over the overreach from trump and musk, especially when it comes to doge, from voters. we've seen in the last 48 hours, republicans have been confronted by many constituents at town halls, particularly in trump friendly districts. republicans are shrugging off those

concerns, but one lawmaker told axios that it's all, quote, manufactured bs for likes and clickbait. give me your thoughts on what we're seeing. are we reading too much into it, or are we beginning to see, you know, constituents in republican districts saying like, hey, this is not how we wanted you guys to go about this. we don't want to see elon musk on a stage with a chainsaw and like, you know, dancing around and doing all these kind of silly things and not being more serious with what he's actually tasked to do. >> i think the american people. >> are confused. i don't know yet what i mean, whether these are republican voters at some of these town halls. i don't know that yet. but what i do know is this democrats, get into your damn districts, get out there in your districts, and talk to real people who are impacted by all of trump's crap right now. that's where they need to be. they need to be talking to real people who've been pounded by this stuff. >> all right. christina greer and joe walsh, thank you to the

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today that all federal employees will shortly receive an email requesting to understand what they got done last week. only musk says failure to respond will be taken as a resignation. joining me now to discuss this is congresswoman stacey plaskett, who represents the at large congressional district of the united states virgin islands. congressman, it's great to have you back on the show. the office of personnel management told nbc news that, quote, as part of the trump administration's commitment to an efficient and accountable federal workforce, opm is asking employees to provide a brief summary of what they did last week. by the end of monday, see, seeing their managers agencies will determine any next steps. as i said, that follows musk's musk's threats on x. just give me your thoughts on on this development and this new approach. >> my initial thought is what is he doing? >> what's his purpose? why is he

even there? i have yet to see how doge has really brought any spending cuts to the federal government. we know that federal employees make up a very small portion of the federal budget. we already have a government accountability office. >> which is. >> found way more fraud and abuse than doge has been able to find. and it is congress's job under the oversight. >> committee and. >> other mechanisms for us to ensure that fraud, waste and abuse is gone. not an individual who has access to information that he shouldn't. not an individual who doesn't understand how government works to understand the functions of government, as opposed to running a business which has a very different bottom line and a purpose. you know, you can buy businesses, take them apart, throw them out. if investors find that it was not such a great deal, it's scrapped and gone away. what are we going to do when our democracy is gone? because the exercise or the

experiment of tinkering with our democracy didn't work out exactly how elon musk thought it would. >> we have seen thousands of firings, as you mentioned, and layoffs over the past few weeks. but i want you to take a listen to congressman rich mccormick's town hall from thursday. take a listen. >> workers from the nuclear worker. >> nuke the nnsa our nuclear. >> stockpile. >> and cdc workers working on the bird flu. being. >> fired by. >> doge, and then. having to be rehired when someone realizes, oh gosh, we need those people. >> why? >> why is this. >> supposedly conservative party taking. >> such a. >> radical and extremist. >> and sloppy. >> approach to this? >> you know, you had a constituent there mentioning the irony of republicans allowing trump, musk and doge to act in this way. and, you know, he highlighted it to a round of

applause from others in attendance. do you think that kind of messaging from voters will stick with the republicans at all? i mean, is there any hope that some will join the fight to push back if more voters like this speak out? or is the most pragmatic thing to do at the moment, is to just not count on the gop to do the right thing at all? >> well, i am looking. >> for profiles in courage on the republican side. >> i think, more importantly. >> what the american people are going to be concerned about. is when they see the amount of budget cuts that this bill that the president wants to pass and has instructed the house to negotiate among themselves to be able to do to bring tax cuts and more wealth to the wealthiest americans, while taking while taking away vital resources that may not affect your life immediately, but it's going to have an effect on your mother, your grandparents, your children down the line. i think that those are the things that are going to cause americans to be concerned with when they say

that the reason they put trump in office was to ensure that costs would go down. that's not what's happening. inflation is going up. and i think that that's going to be the real impetus that's going to cause a sea change in how americans are viewing the president, as well as this house and the republican party. >> you've been very outspoken about the role of congress and what lawmakers should be doing right now. there's a recent quinnipiac poll. the disapproval rating for congressional democrats is a staggering 68%. why is it that the case in your. why is that the case, in your opinion? and what do you think your colleagues should be doing at this point? >> well, i think the thing that they are doing, which is going into their communities. we have been in district work period where members have been at home, and you're going to see you've seen massive amounts of town halls. the democrats are conducting both tele town halls, in-person town halls with large numbers of constituents coming out and getting the word out to them because they really don't

understand the democrats. this is the case that people elected republicans to be in control of this congress. therefore, we cannot bring hearings that the republicans don't want. we can't bring bills to the floor that republicans don't want. we're our hands are tied, and all we can do is let things that we did in the last week when we had the budget hearings, we bring amendments. democrats brought 32 amendments to the budget hearing. we made the republicans stay there for 12 hours, debating a budget that is going to take away massive amounts of money in areas that we, our country, needs it the most, and they all fell in line. all of the republicans fell in line and voted lockstep for it. so i think getting that message out to our constituents and letting people know is what's going to happen. listen, people are scared. people are concerned about what's happening, the

firings, discussions that are being had. this assault on the american people that is happening and they want leaders to do something about it. and we have tools within the law for us to do that. and that's what we're working with right now. we can't be lawless. like many of our colleagues on the other side of the aisle are. we have to follow the rule of law because we need to protect that for the american people. we can do our protests, nonviolent protests, many of the things that we're having litigation, amplifying words, speaking, protest. you know, we're talking. >> about your. >> demonstrations and other things. those are the things that we have within our disposal at this time. >> all right. congresswoman stacey plaskett, thank you so much for coming back on the show and look forward to talking to you in the days and weeks and months ahead. >> sure. thank you. >> next hour, we dive into doge and who's really running it? but after this break, the uncertain future of the ceasefire hostage deal in gaza. we're going to

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innovation is at your fingertips. buick. exceptional by design. harrowing days in israel since the hamas terror attack of october 7th. it was the day that the bodies of the two youngest hostages, ariel and kfir, were to be returned to israel as part of the ceasefire and hostage release deal, along with the remains of their mother, shiri. the body of a fourth slain hostage, journalist and peace activist oded, was also to be released. ariel was only four years old, and kfir was just nine months when they were kidnaped. the deaths of ariel fear and shiri bibas were first announced back in november of 2023, when hamas put out a statement saying that all three were killed by an israeli missile strike within gaza. there was, of course, no way of confirming this claim, so without any confirmation, there was still a sliver of hope that

they'd be returned alive. but thursday they were returned in coffins, and the world was reminded that in times of war and terror, it is young children, through no fault of their own, that are the most precious and innocent of victims. and to make matters even more disturbing, those coffins were displayed in an ugly propaganda event by hamas, compounding the trauma of their deaths. and it prompted outrage not just in israel but in the international community. amnesty international secretary general agnes callamard stated hostage taking is a war crime. civilians must never be abducted. all those held captive and detained must be treated humanely and with dignity. she added at least 36 children were killed during the 7th of october hamas led attack and at least 13,319 palestinian children have been killed in israel in gaza since october 7th of 2023, including 781 babies under the age of one. indeed, the killing and kidnaping of israeli civilians,

including children, is precisely the reason the international criminal court issued arrest warrants for the leaders of hamas. in addition to the israeli prime minister and defense minister for their alleged war crimes as well. and why we must work to uphold these institutions and enforce the rulings. that is a reminder of what is at stake when we don't. and i should note that yesterday, the bibas family confirmed that the human remains returned by hamas to israel on friday are those of shiri. during the exchange a day prior, there was an apparent mix up and the body was sent to israel that was misidentified as shiri, causing more outrage. but on thursday, it was ofri bibas, the aunt of ariel and kfir, who served as a voice of reason. after the bodies of the two boys were returned, she delivered a powerful eulogy for her nephews using their nicknames. she said in hebrew, i am sorry, luli. i'm sorry. fear, fear. you didn't deserve any of this. we'll miss you forever. but she also delivered a very pointed

statement at israel's political leaders. she said, for ariel and kfir and for yarden, we are not asking for revenge. hamas is cruelty only underlines the need to save the lives of the living hostages and get the fallen back for burial. she then took direct aim at the prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, saying there can be no forgiving and the abandonment by the israeli prime minister, netanyahu, and even went so far as to say that she had not received an apology yet for this terrible moment in failing to protect israelis on october 7th. this echoes the sentiment from many hostage families in israel who have been, you know, very critical of some of the most critical voices against the government there for more than a year, because they believe that the government has reportedly sabotaged ceasefire deals in favor of going to war in gaza and at times killing the very hostages that the prime minister claims to be fighting on behalf of. and on cue,

netanyahu appears to be using the trauma and outrage over thursday's hostage release to vow vengeance and more war, despite the fact that there are more than 60 israeli hostages still inside gaza, and despite the fact that it is plausible that bibi's the bibas family was killed by the israeli military, as they've been forced to acknowledge when they've killed israeli other hostages in the past. and of course, despite tens of thousands of palestinians, the majority of whom are children and women that have been maimed or killed by israel in the past 16 months, leading to charges of genocide and ethnic cleansing. in response to the new calls for violence, peace activist and daughter of martin luther king jr, bernice king posted that she mourns with the bibas family and added, i've read posts from people with many followers sharing photos of the children's ariel and kfir, who are two beautiful israeli children, and encouraging actions that would slaughter beautiful palestinian children. lord, in your mercy, embolden us for discourse and

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israeli hostages were released. and this is former israeli hostage omer wenkert reuniting with his parents this afternoon. 600 palestinian prisoners were supposed to be released as part of today's exchange, but moments ago, israel announced it is delaying the release of the palestinian prisoners until the release of the next hostages is guaranteed and without the degrading ceremonies. it is unclear whether the delay will jeopardize the ceasefire and hostage deal from continuing. joining me now is ari alexander, the father of edan alexander, an israeli american who on october 7th was serving in the israeli military's golani brigade and was patrolling near gaza when hamas attacks on israel began. he is the last living american hostage in hamas captivity. mr. alexander, thank you so much for joining us. let me just start. i know how difficult it is with the release of hostages. a sense of joy, but also a sense of concern for the remaining hostages being held inside gaza.

just give me your thoughts on on this news that we're learning today that the israeli government is delaying the release of the 600 prisoners, palestinian prisoners that were supposed to be released in in exchange for today's hostages. and whether you're concerned that that may already jeopardize a fragile ceasefire. hostage deal. >> first of all, i'm. >> really happy for the families that got their loved. >> ones back. home today. >> and of. >> course. >> we. >> are grieving for the family in regards of this delay. you know, the. >> the deal is not perfect. >> it's really fragile. >> it needs to be constantly supervised and hopefully that by. tomorrow all of. >> those prisoners. >> will be will be released. >> we saw the images today of the six israeli hostages being reunited with their families. as you said, this is a very happy day for them and for people of israel and around the world. this is something we've now seen many times in the last several

weeks since this ceasefire deal was announced. just talk to me a little bit about your feelings about how heartening is it for you and the other hostage families who have been advocating for this to happen for 500 days, seeing this full fruition, but knowing there are still 60 or so hostages that need to be released. >> as i. >> said, the deal is not perfect. >> we at the end of the first phase, hopefully the this phase will be extended, but now it's really the time maybe to reshuffle the cards and renegotiate the whole thing because the second phase was left blurry on purpose. since the deal is very old. so it's for the new team actually to reshuffle the deck and start over again. >> what do you want to see happen in that second phase? i mean, if you had a chance to speak to the israeli government and the israeli leadership, as well as to the negotiators and mediators, what would you, as a father of an israeli american

hostage held in gaza, want to see happen? really simple. >> everybody is out in one shot. no tips, no drips, no weak. no another weak. just one shot. everybody's out. all for all. deal. and that's it. >> even for the complete end of the war and israel completely withdrawing from gaza. >> that was. >> on the table since the beginning. and that was an initial demand from hamas. and i believe it's still on the table. but this is what we have right now. the deal is not perfect. we still have 59 hostages there. 22 among them are living hostages that are begging to be out. >> you know, i'm sure you're aware for the past 16 months, there's been this discrepancy in how americans and israelis talk about the hostages in israel. the hostage families have been the most adamant about getting a ceasefire in a hostage release deal done. some in this country, it seems. certainly politicians

who advocate and cite the hostages as for more reason to continue the war, continue the war to destroy hamas. and that actually puts the hostage lives in jeopardy. i want to just get your thoughts on that discrepancy. i mean, how frustrating is it to see so many people citing the hostages as a reason not to sign a hostage release deal that keeps hamas in power? >> nobody should use the hostages as a bargaining chip. nobody. no friends, no enemies. absolutely nobody. we at the very fragile moment. very crucial moment. there is a dynamic. the hostages are getting out. we should take advantage of this dynamic and push forward. and to get everybody out as soon as possible. >> let me ask you if you've had any information that you're willing to share or know about, about the whereabouts, the conditions of your son. we know hamas releases propaganda videos as a tool of psychological terror against israeli

government, israeli mediators. but i just wanted to get your thoughts. as a father, do you receive adequate communication from the israeli government about what they know involving your son, who was, as i mentioned, a soldier in the israeli military? >> i'll be really frank about it. and i do want to share that other than this video, we don't have any latest information about our son. we want to believe it's good he's alive. he's holding up. but the latest sign of life that we had, this video that was released on thanksgiving weekend. >> and let me finally ask you if i can, mr. alexander, if you had a chance right now, perhaps the president of united states or his special envoy, steve witkoff, may watch this. what is your message to the american government or to president trump about, you know, he's recently said he wants to take over gaza. he's made all kinds of plans about wanting to have the palestinians moved out of gaza. but at the same time, he wants all hell to break loose. of all the hostages are not released. i

just wanted to get your thoughts on how he has approached this and what you think of what he has done so far. >> i think we have to take the president very seriously, but not legally. and in regards of my ask from the from our team, from steve witkoff and from president trump, just keep pushing forward. we need to get everybody out and end this war. we don't want to start a new war. president stated that he wants he wants to end all wars. so let's do so. >> all right. mr. adi alexander, thank you so much for your time. and we pray for the safe and immediate return of your son and all the other israeli hostages. thank you so much, sir. thank you so much, sir. >> thank you 500,000 square miles of the u.s. are unreachable by any cell phone tower. places where memories... were left unshared. until now. t-mobile partnered with starlink to create the only space-based network

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connect with a medical provider at. >> on this new hour of a man, trump and musk are bragging about doge cutting costs across the federal government. but the numbers simply don't add up. plus, trump's war on immigration as the white house tries to pass cruelty off as humor. and what if democrats call the republicans bluff when it comes to a third trump term? we'll explain. i'm ayman mohyeldin. let's do it. all right. take a look at what donald trump posted on truth social this morning. elon is doing a great job, but i would like to see him get more