listen to the podcast, i don't know about you. >> i can't. add another podcast right now. >> that one. so yes, i put that on my list and list. i think you'd be very interesting. but i think he's saying, hey, i think i can speak for the democratic party. and he's also saying that there there's a world in which people with ideas who are in maga world would want to have a debate with the feisty democrat, and who also controls the world's fourth largest economy. >> so yeah, the love of the debate is so deeply ingrained, i think in maga. you and i covered the 2016 campaign together. we covered the white house together. so certainly we're aware of that orbit. but i don't know, maybe you just sold me on on this new podcast. i'm not sure. but if so, the governor of california owes you at least one listener on this one. margaret talev, my friend, thank you for joining us in the studio. and that was way too early for this thursday morning. morning joe starts right now. >> we will make mistakes. we won't be perfect. but when we

make a mistake, we'll fix it very quickly. so, for example, with usaid, one of the things we accidentally canceled very briefly was ebola. ebola prevention. i think we all want ebola prevention. so we restored the ebola prevention immediately. >> okay. >> elon musk taking center. stage during president trump's first. cabinet meeting of his. >> second term. >> we'll have much more from. >> that meeting. featuring someone, of. >> course. >> who is not a cabinet. secretary nor a nominee to become one. we will also bring you. >> the very. >> latest on. >> a developing story. >> the growing measles outbreak in texas. as hhs secretary robert f kennedy jr seemed to downplay its spread yesterday. and we'll dig into the mineral rights deal between the u.s. and ukraine, ahead of president volodymyr zelensky's visit to the white house tomorrow. good morning, and welcome to morning joe. it is thursday, february

27th. along with joe, willie and me, we have the co-host of our fourth hour contributing writer at the atlantic, jonathan lemire. msnbc contributor mike barnicle is with us, us special correspondent for bbc news, katty kay. she is the host of the rest is politics podcast and the host of way too early. ali vitali joins us, along with co-founder and ceo of axios, jim vandehei. joe, we have a lot of news to get to this morning. but we begin with news that broke overnight. very sad news. >> yeah yeah yeah. sad news. gene hackman, willie geist. >> one of the. >> great actors of our time, gene hackman passed away. he just he was such. >> an iconic. >> actor in. >> so many roles. >> became famous during the french connection. >> but but, you. >> know, as kids, i think willie, probably. >> you and i may have seen him.

first or one of the. >> first movies. >> hoosiers. where he. >> played a tough basketball coach and a movie that was so inspirational. but it's funny, while he was filming it on set. >> with dennis hopper. >> he hated the idea of the movie. he thought it was. >> corny. >> and he said to dennis hopper, i hope you. have invested well, dennis, because after this movie. we're never going to. work again. and did he saw a rough cut of it. >> and. >> realized he was once again involved in a project that. was pure magic. >> you know, that. >> movie could have been corny, if not in the hands. >> of gene. >> hackman and. >> dennis hopper. they were so good in it, and it's still almost 40 years later. i always stop. >> when it's on and i. >> always get choked up throughout. >> that movie. >> yeah. gene hackman and. >> his wife. >> betsy were found dead in their home in new mexico. >> their dog too. >> we don't. >> know what exactly happened. the police say there is no indication of foul play. certainly. hackman, though mike

considered one of the greatest of all time, he's a first ballot hall of famer. you can go to bonnie and clyde and the french connection. the superman movies were on the other day. he's a great lex luther in those movies. hoosiers, of course. unforgiven. he won an academy award for that mississippi burning. you can go on and on. and the one i know, joe shares my love for royalton. >> and. >> royal tenenbaums. >> royal tenenbaums. >> oh my. >> my favorite. >> kids call me royal. >> yeah. >> that's right. >> that's right. >> gene hackman. yeah. also, don't. >> forget his great role in get shorty. >> yeah. >> he was great in that. >> wide range. wide range of acting abilities. >> he was who. he was off. >> i met him a couple of. >> times off. >> screen. >> and he. >> was the same off. >> screen as many of his characters were on screen. >> a legitimate, legitimate. >> movie star. >> yeah. so great. >> also. >> oh. sorry, joe. >> no, i was. >> just going to say jonathan and the staying power here. here. we're watching him in film

in the early 2000, royal tenenbaums. but think about it. you talk to somebody who was a big movie fan in the early 70s to talk about french connection. >> bonnie and. >> clyde, you talk to somebody who's a big fan in the early 80s and talk about lex luthor and superman, late 80s. what would they talk about? they talk about hoosiers. in the 90s. people would be talking about what an incredible job he did in unforgiven, the 2000. my favorite movie thus far of the 2000 royal tenenbaums. you talk about a guy that was iconic for generations. i mean, it's quite a talent. >> yeah. and such a as. >> not just. >> the duration of. >> his career, but the breadth and the different. roles that we talked about. >> his, you know, ventures. >> into comedy. also the birdcage. >> he's in that, you know. he of course, the drama, he was the crimson tide. >> and the conversation.

>> the list goes on and on. he has a filmography that's as as strong as anyone's willing. and, you know, someone who also made a decision about 15. >> 20 years ago. >> to walk away to retirement to head. >> to new mexico. >> but certainly, you know, you will be long, long remembered for he'll be remembered for as long as we have movies. >> let's take a look back now at. >> his career. >> with nbc news correspondent gadi schwartz. >> if the car chase scene in the french connection set the gold standard for all hollywood chases to follow, then it star gene hackman has come to define what a true actor is. with the uncanny ability to vanish into any role, hackman drew from within to put nuance into all the tough guy roles he portrayed. >> i popeye's. >> here is that gun. >> just for show. >> a child of a broken home who lied about his age so he could join the marines. hackman worked many odd jobs, all to finance auditions. >> every day was. it was like. >> a new challenge. >> it was going. >> out and. >> trying to get that job.

>> and trying to and. >> doing those auditions. and i loved it. >> kicked out of the pasadena playhouse, it wasn't until hackman was 36, playing the simple minded buck barrow and bonnie and clyde. >> who. >> when hollywood took notice soon after his tough as nails good cop popeye doyle in the french connection earned him his first oscar. >> the prestige involved with. >> an oscar means that. you have. >> been in. >> a couple of. >> films that that have. >> made some money and that. >> they can take a chance on. >> you in hollywood kept taking chances. >> are. >> hackman won his second oscar for playing a bad cop in 1992. >> unforgiven this. >> but he felt the tough guy roles never really pushed him. >> we were. >> cast so close to type in in films that that you can only do so much within your own persona. i hope you're hungry. i could eat a. >> horse radish. >> towards the end of his career, hackman found he preferred comedy for the challenge. >> comedy is harder because you know it isn't arbitrary. if they

don't laugh, it. doesn't work. the problem. >> is always shrugging off the label of movie star. hackman remained an actor in his own words. >> i guess movie star is robert redford and paul. newman and kind of guys that i idolized or visualized when i was a real young guy. >> moving to santa fe. after retiring, hackman continued to work as a novelist, publishing his fifth book in 2013. always letting his actions speak for him on the written page and the silver screen. >> wow. >> gadi schwartz. >> reporting there. gene hackman was 95 years old. michael, i was reminded, watching that he's of a different generation, where he lied about his age as a teenager so he could join the united states marine corps. >> yeah, he did. he did. >> five years in the marine corps. >> yeah. >> i. >> think like. >> late, late. >> 40s after world. >> war two, right after 1950s. >> yeah, he was quite a guy. he was. >> quite a guy. >> he was a legitimately ordinary. >> human being when.

>> you. >> meet him. i had the good fortune of. >> meeting him. >> several times and. >> went to see him in. >> santa fe about. 5 or 6 years. >> ago, and. >> he was the same then as. >> he was. >> when i first met him in. >> 1973 on the set of a bridge too far in. >> nijmegen, holland, when he. >> was the star. >> of that cast. and he had a lot. >> of fun. >> making that movie. we won't go into it now, but. >> he was a really. >> good guy. >> we'll also keep following what happened there. yeah. all right. two other big stories this morning. an unvaccinated child in texas has died of measles amid a growing outbreak in that state. and others. nbc news correspondent priscilla thompson has the latest. >> a fast. >> moving measles. outbreak turning deadly in texas. health officials in lubbock confirming an unvaccinated school aged child has died. >> we are now. >> seeing a very serious. >> consequence of what. happens when we have a measles in our community. >> sending shockwaves through west texas, especially among those like ben ham, whose 18 month old foster daughter is

immunocompromised. >> if she's. >> around a cold. >> or any type. >> of sniffles and she's not. >> protected. >> she could be in the icu. tonight. >> ham early died up her second dose of the measles vaccine as cases in texas climbed to at least 124, with 18 patients hospitalized. officials say almost all babies and children who were unvaccinated or awaiting their second dose. hhs secretary robert f kennedy jr, a vaccine skeptic responding to the outbreak for the first time. >> we put out a post on it. >> yesterday and we're going to continue. >> to follow it. it's not unusual to. >> have. >> measles. >> outbreaks every year. >> doctor anna montanez is on the front lines in lubbock. she says while cases occur annually, she hasn't seen them this widespread. >> do we get it in patches every year? maybe that is true, but it is. in areas where. there is no vaccination. there's low vaccination. >> rates. >> if you will. >> measles cases have been reported in eight states,

including nine in neighboring new mexico. officials have not said they're connected. experts say those born before 1957 likely have natural immunity because of how widespread the disease was. but those vaccinated between 1957 and 89 before a live virus was used, or when only one shot was given, might consider a booster. as parents here hope this outbreak will soon be over. >> nbc's priscilla thompson reporting. and you know, mika, this is this is a this measles outbreak is happening in places with low vaccination rates. and you look at some of the counties in texas where there's been a jump in measles cases. there's a direct overlay where you see a jump in parents telling schools that they do not want their children to be vaccinated, and it's jumped to almost 20% in one

of the counties that's at the center of this. and it's important to remember. it's important to remember because of vaccines, that in 2000, the measles, measles itself was declared eliminated in the united states. >> not supposed to. be here. >> and here we are again. >> yeah. joining us now, nbc news medical contributor, doctor vin gupta. doctor gupta, can you confirm that if vaccines are used properly, is the measles something that at this stage in time should be deadly in america? and secondly, what do you make of the hhs secretary saying that these these things happen in scattered ways across the country, seeming to downplay it? >> well good morning. >> first of all. >> joe. >> is exactly right. >> one dose. >> of this of the measles. >> vaccine is part of our. >> our usual.

>> routine pediatric regimen. >> 93% effective at preventing measles. >> two doses. >> 97% effective for all the parents. >> out there. for their babies. >> they get them at year one and ideally at. year five. so that's the routine. >> joe is. >> exactly right. exemption rates in places like gaines. >> county. >> texas. >> to just. emphasize this point. >> are now. >> up to 18 to 20% in 2023. >> fully eradicated. >> we thought. >> in 2000. so that's the reality. that we're dealing with. >> in terms. >> of just fact checking rfk. it's important. >> to realize. >> between the. >> years 2020. >> and. >> 2023, mika, on average. >> we saw about. >> anywhere from 50. >> to. >> 100 cases in total. >> in those years between. >> 2020. >> and 2023. >> so. >> no, this is not. just business as usual. >> this is unusual. we've seen. 124 cases and. february 26th. >> so something unusual. right now. >> is happening. >> and let's. >> just also. >> put a finer point on it. his former organization that he just. >> resigned from. >> is actively putting out

information as we speak this week. >> stating that somehow. >> the vaccine. >> itself, because. >> quote unquote, it's ineffective to. >> their use their. words is the. >> reason why this is. >> happening in texas. >> this outbreak versus the low vaccine rate. >> so this is happening. >> his organization. >> is. >> putting out this information. i don't know a single. credible doctor that you would want caring for your family or for your loved. one that believes or wants any of this. >> doctor gupta, good morning. this obviously was settled science for a long time, viewed as one of the great miracles of the 20th century, along with the polio vaccine in 1955. this vaccine for measles in 1963. we've been using it as a country, as a world, for more than a half century. so what are your fears as a physician, as this disinformation that's being pumped out from certain quarters really does make its way into the bloodstream of america. >> you know, i mean, really. >> what's sad here is that. >> this is not.

>> to be trifled with. >> measles is an extremely serious viral illness. >> it spreads. >> through respiratory droplets. so you and i used to talk about droplet spread all. >> the time. >> covid. but what does that mean? that means. >> if somebody is. >> infected, unvaccinated, they. cough or sneeze. they will. studies have shown 9 in 10. people around them. >> if. >> they're also unvaccinated. >> will get infected. >> if that contagious. >> so that's. >> number one. it's very contagious. number two, it is extremely serious. the lubbock, texas pediatric hospital, their spokesperson emphasized it. they said that there's 18 kids in icu or roughly almost 20, all of them in it appears for respiratory issues, meaning that the complication that we worry about pneumonia is likely at play. so this is this is a very serious illness. 1 in 4 people unvaccinated infected end up in the hospital. so severe illness, whether it's pneumonia or brain swelling, otherwise known as encephalitis. very very common. this is not uncommon. extreme

consequences are quite common. meanwhile, i vaccine advisory committee meeting to select strains of the flu to be included in the next season's flu shot has been canceled. a committee member says there was no explanation for the scrapped meeting, and a spokesperson for the department of health and human services, which oversees the fda, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. it comes as the united states is in the midst of a particularly severe flu season already. the meetings are important because the virus changes year to year, and the vaccine must be updated to provide the best protection. and doctor gupta, that meeting is part of strategizing as to what could be coming. what do you make of the abrupt cancellation? and does it does it give you pause in any way? well. you know, mika, what i would say is this is not. >> common in. >> presidential transitions. we didn't see this during the first trump administration. we didn't

see this in the george w bush administration, the. >> obama administration. >> it is not common to cancel these vaccine advisory meetings. exactly. to your point, your lead up was perfect. these are meant to plan ahead. there's a six month manufacturing cycle for the flu vaccine. so there's a reason we scheduled it in march because six months down the road, turns out that's when we want to start getting our flu vaccines. and so the fact that we are not scheduling it, by the way, some similar vaccine advisory committee meeting was canceled just this week for a different purpose. the question here is, are these going to be rescheduled? are they going to be rescheduled quickly? not clear. and again there's a six month turnaround. so if we don't do this quickly perhaps vax flu strains are not going to be incorporated or any new data into what we want to get immunized into people's arms come september of 2025. mike. >> doctor. >> can you speak to the elements of a virus and how quickly those elements can change based upon the cancellation of this meeting

that they were supposed to have? how quickly do the elements of a virus change or could change? >> well. >> mike, you know, we're seeing this with bird flu play out as we speak. it can it can happen in a matter of weeks where we saw in the case of, again, avian flu, that strain changed within a matter of weeks in terms of what we were seeing in human beings. it was actually a very sick teenager in british columbia in which the virus was changing quite literally before our eyes. and so this is something that can be instantaneous. and that's why predicting what needs to be in the 2025 flu vaccine is so important. it's an imperfect science. let's be clear it's an imperfect science. nothing is ever perfect. but even if we're 50% correct, that mitigates the risk of severe illness by 50%. that's a big deal. yeah. >> nbc news medical contributor doctor vin gupta, we always appreciate you bringing the facts, the truth about medicine to us. we'll be talking to you much more at the white house. elon musk was front and center

at the first cabinet meeting yesterday, giving an update on doj's controversial email asking federal workers to justify their employment. this as president trump announced, ukrainian president zelensky will visit washington. and trump also gave an update on gaza. nbc news senior white house correspondent garrett hake has the latest. >> president trump converting his first cabinet meeting into a role in press conference. >> illegal border crossings have plummeted. >> touting progress. >> we're cutting down the size of government. we have to. we're bloated. we're sloppy. we have a lot of people that aren't doing their job. >> and immediately turning the spotlight, not on a cabinet member, but on elon musk, head of his department of government efficiency, to defend his controversial directive that all federal workers email a list of five accomplishments from last week or face termination. >> i think that email perhaps was misinterpreted as a performance review, but actually it was a pulse check review. if you have a pulse interneurons, you can reply to an email. this

is, you know, i think, not a high bar. >> musk was surrounded by several cabinet members who had pushed back on his order and instructed employees not to respond. musk insisting that was fine. >> we're going to send another email, but our goal is not to be capricious or unfair. the email could simply be what i'm working on is too sensitive or classified. describe that literally. just that would be sufficient. >> the president publicly backing musk. >> and let the cabinet speak just for a second. >> exactly. >> very unhappy to say it. >> if you are well, throw them out. >> of here. >> and warning federal workers who've not yet responded remain at risk of losing their jobs. >> those million people that haven't responded, though, elon, they are on the bubble now. maybe they don't exist. maybe we're paying people that don't exist. >> it comes as a new budget office memo obtained by nbc news instructs federal agencies to prepare for mass layoffs, as the trump administration focuses on reducing federal spending.

>> if we don't do this, america will go bankrupt. >> while musk acknowledging doge made mistakes, including cutting funding for ebola prevention. >> when we make a mistake, we'll fix it very quickly. we restored the ebola prevention immediately and there was no interruption. >> the president also making headlines on ukraine, revealing president zelensky will visit the white house friday for the signing of an agreement to jointly develop the country's valuable rare earth minerals to recoup billions in u.s. aid sent to ukraine. the president, suggesting the deal would form its own kind of security guarantee for ukraine. >> it's this sort of automatic security because nobody is going to be messing around with our people when we're. >> there and saying, for the first time, russian president putin will have to make concessions. >> he will he will. >> going to have to. >> vice president vance heading off a question about what exactly those concessions would be. >> we're not going to do. >> the negotiation in public. >> with the. >> american media. he's doing the job of. >> a diplomat. >> the president also speaking about the middle east after posting this ai generated video

featuring his name and face in a future redeveloped gaza, a reference to his controversial plan to take over and rebuild it. opposed by key arab allies. the president slamming hamas for how it handled the latest release of dead hostages as the cease fire deal moves into a potential second phase. >> this is a vicious group of people, and israel is going to have to decide what they're doing. >> all right. nbc's garrett haake with that report and a quick fact check for you on what musk said about ebola prevention being quickly restored. the washington post reports current and former u.s. aid officials say u.s. aids ebola prevention efforts have been largely halted since musk and his d.o.j. allies moved last month to cut the global assistance agency and freeze its outgoing payments. so i don't think they put it back a joke. >> well, this is the problem.

it's a problem with the lack of transparency, where it's basically what they're saying is, hey, trust us, we've restored a lot of funding. you go back and you find out that that's not actually the case. and a lot of times the agencies don't even have the answers. we talked yesterday to josh dorsey, who wrote wrote a story about how even the lawyers representing the government don't know the current status because of things when they're trying to defend the white house, the administration, because there's so much ambiguity out there. and of course, this is something, jim vandehei, that that you wrote about, about doge, how it's a drop in the bucket, how how damage is being done, whatever pain is being exacted. they're not getting. >> the gain. >> on the other side. i'm curious, given all of that, what your take was yesterday on the cabinet meeting and specifically

elon musk's role in it. >> i mean, there's so much in that. >> clip to digest, right? the truth is, i think the american. >> people are with trump. >> directionally. >> right, that, okay, the government is bloated. yes. there's a lot of waste. yes, you can probably cut a lot of roles. >> i think where they start to lose. >> the american. >> people is. >> if you're operationally sloppy. >> or cruel. >> in how you're. doing it. and i think. >> you see some. >> of the. >> slop in terms of. >> having to. >> hey, we kind of screwed up the ebola thing. it's ebola, right? like there's ways to avoid that, which is, hey. >> go through the budget. >> figure out the things that. >> need to change, give. >> people a reasonable amount. >> of time to make those changes, then make them. it doesn't need to be done in a chaotic way. >> and when i say. >> cruel, the. cruel part is. >> imagine the person. >> who takes a job in government. >> are some people disingenuous? maybe. but most people are like, hey, i want to serve my country. there's an agency. >> that exists. they didn't create the agency, they didn't create the slot. >> they took a job to serve

their. >> country, and now they're being told that they might be either fraudulent, they might not exist. they're terrible at their job, even though no one's probably even looked at their job performance before making that claim. and you just. saw a lot of that in that cabinet meeting. >> and the truth is. >> even if you did all the stuff that elon's talking about, we pay. >> three. >> i think $3 billion a day just on the. interest on our debt. and so these little bitty tucks around the corner aren't going to do a darn thing. the truth is, if you want to change the deficit, you want to get rid of the debt. you either need to raise taxes a lot or you need to cut defense. you need to cut social security. you need to cut medicare. you need to cut medicaid or some combination thereof, because that's where we spend the vast majority of our money. and so a lot of this is a is a is a sideshow. unless you're really going to get serious about trying to reduce the size of government, which is really hard work, which is why republicans are having a difficult time coming together to figure out how can they both

decrease taxes by up to $5 trillion, right. but retain all of those programs? >> yeah, i mean, they're just not going to be able to do it without blowing a hole in the debt. again. again, the cbo estimating $20 trillion additional in debt over the next ten years. and of course, we didn't over 220 years, we didn't have $10 trillion of debt accumulated. jonathan lemire there are so many fact checks we have to go through there. one of them is donald trump kept saying, we're going to be talking about ukraine in a minute. but donald trump kept saying that that we've we've spent $350 billion defending ukraine, giving ukraine. it's just not it's not even close to true. he's also said the united states has given more than europe. that's also not close to being true. i mean, i think the numbers somewhere around like 140 billion. but even of that, i think only 80 billion of it has been delivered. one additional

thing, one additional thing that's very important to say here. when you listen to administration officials, it sounds as if we wrote a check to zelensky and said, here you go. no, that's not actually the case for so much of this funding, billions of dollars have gone to american factories. american workers, american jobs. this this has been, in part, a jobs bill because so much of the aid that we have sent them has started here in the united states and has created jobs in america. >> yeah, that's actually what mitch mcconnell's talking point for fellow republicans last year, trying to get funding approved through the senate to ukraine, saying, look, a lot of this is right here at home, and we'll talk more about that in a moment. uk prime minister starmer in washington today. zelensky tomorrow. but back to that cabinet meeting first. just the optics of it. president trump called on one person to

speak in that cabinet meeting, elon musk, who is not a member of the cabinet. he also then had all of his cabinet officials applaud musk's efforts, saying, don't you like what doge is doing? and they all sort of like on command had to clap. even though we know and have reported over the last few days that so many of these cabinet leaders were completely taken by surprise, by that musk email, now seems like it's going to be going out again, pushing more people out of the workforce. we should also note social security ministration is being told to instruct to cut its staff by half. the labor department, which of course enforces equal employment opportunity laws, has been told to cut their staff by 90%. katty, there's going to be by mid-march. the trump administration wants to utterly gut the federal workforce. that's their plan. at the same time, we have reporting today that the faa is terminating at $2.4 billion deal with verizon, and instead going to give that contract to elon musk's starlink. we also know that so much of this is going to be used

to fund for tax cuts, which are going to largely benefit the rich. so we're already seeing some anger from voters, from republicans in these town halls. and now you're taking away services, rewarding musk and trump's rich friends. where do you think that this is now going to break through? we're going to see some real opposition. >> yes. >> so there. >> is. >> i. >> mean, i. >> think. >> there is some opportunity. >> here for democrats. >> and you're starting to hear some of them talk about this. there's some new data by. >> a group. >> called grow progress, which does big ai searches and has found. that among elon musk is a point of vulnerability for donald trump. first of all, we've seen his approval numbers decline just in the course of the last month. but this new data is suggesting that the general public is twice as likely to be concerned that elon musk is going to go too far than that. he's not going to go far enough. so he is a point of vulnerability for donald trump. the speculation that the relationship might bust up fast, i don't think that's going to happen as quickly as some people had thought, partly because elon musk has an enormous amount of money, and all the indications

are that donald trump look at just yesterday likes what he's doing. but if democrats are looking for somewhere and the other thing that this data is showing is that the thing that people are concerned about are exactly what you just said, john, these conflicts of interest, where is elon musk actually making changes that may benefit him? and if you start to see people who are growing increasingly anxious, for example, as ali has reported often about cuts in medicaid coming, how is that going to look if elon musk is there making changes to the us government that might potentially benefit starlink and spacex, at the same time that americans are worried that some of these cuts that are passed in congress might hurt their medicaid. this is why democrats are wondering, look, is there something brewing that suggests overreach in the white house that may give them an opportunity to be more of a resistance or an opposition than they have been? >> but then i also think, too, there was this really fascinating moment where you, of course, see musk in the cabinet meeting. and then on capitol hill, you had trump's chief of staff, siouxsie wiles, going up there and trying to talk to

senators about concerns that they have about doge and basically telling them, if you're not getting your concerns heard, contact my office. and so you're watching musk with a firm hold and firm alliance with trump. and then his chief of staff is having to go placate members of his own party who have been trying to be quiet about the concerns that they have, but saying, hey, we need something. and she's offering her office as a place for that. >> all right. >> still ahead on morning joe, amazon, ceo and owner of the washington post, jeff bezos is making a major change to the newspaper's opinion section. we'll dig into the controversy surrounding that announcement with the former executive editor of the post, marty baron. we're back in 90s. >> time now. >> my eyes, they're dry,

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>> reichsmarks, rins, rubles, pounds and shekels. it is the international system of currency which determines the totality of life on this planet. that is the natural order of things today. i tell you, when i heard the news yesterday coming out of the washington post, i immediately thought of ned beatty's iconic performance in the 1976 film network, which actually started as a parody, and now, of course, has become prophetic. he he portrayed though ned beatty. arthur jensen, the chairman of an overleveraged conglomerate that owns a television network. and that scene feels especially relevant today given the next story. the billionaire owner of the washington post, jeff bezos, announcing yesterday a major shift to the newspaper's opinion section, saying it's now going to focus on what he calls two

pillars personal liberties and free markets. and pointedly said the paper will not publish any opposing viewpoints on those topics. the decision to reduce the scope and views of the opinion pages is a major departure from the paper's long time approach to commentary. in response to the newspaper's opinion, editor david shipley resigned from the position he's held since 2022, declining to stay at the helm under the paper's new editorial direction. let's bring in right now the former executive editor of the washington post, marty baron. marty started in that position in early 2013, months before bezos purchased the post, and he served through 2021. marty, i, i mean, most of us, when we saw this, we just said, what the hell? it is it's like something that we've never heard. i mean, it's obviously opinion pages can go their own direction, but to say we don't publish opposing viewpoints seems shocking at

best. what was your reaction? >> well. >> i was. >> shocked as well. you know. >> bezos said that he's in favor of. personal liberties. well, of course. >> so am i. >> and that's why i'm in favor of free expression. you know, it's. >> right there in. >> the. >> first amendment. >> and news organizations have. >> always honored. >> free expression by having. >> a variety. >> of points of. >> view on their opinion pages. but bezos now is just shutting. that down. >> and he's saying that only. >> his point of view is. >> going to be represented. >> on those pages. >> and that really is. >> a betrayal of the heritage of the of the washington post. and i. >> think. >> a betrayal. >> of the very. idea of. >> free expression. and it actually, in contrast to how newspapers, news. organizations honored free expression. >> with a variety of points of. >> view, it actually dishonors free expression. >> you know, which. >> is the most fundamental. >> personal liberty of american citizens. >> so, marty, as you heard that new edict from jeff bezos to focus only on personal liberty and free markets, what did you take that to mean? in other words, if you're an op ed

columnist at the washington post sitting down in front of your laptop this morning, what are you expected to write about? >> well. >> that's a good question. >> i think. >> it sends. >> a very. >> disturbing message. >> to the very. >> good columnists at the at the washington post. >> that if. >> they are not in. >> line. >> with his. >> particular point of view, if they don't share. >> his view. >> on all of these issues. >> that they can go take. >> a hike. >> and. >> you know. >> maybe some of them will take a hike. because the signal is that they're not welcome there. >> marty, you've had quite an accomplished career. miami, the herald, boston globe, washington post you know, more than most people know that the editorial page in the op ed page, basically. but the editorial page specifically belongs to the publisher. if the publisher wants his views on the editorial, on the op ed page editorial page, he will get it. but what does it do in your sense here for the post, the staff at the post? what does such behavior do that bezos exhibited yesterday do to the

morale of the reportorial staff? well. >> i think the. >> the morale is definitely gone into. >> the tank. >> it's true that the editorials belong. >> to the. >> publisher, to the owner. >> they can use the. >> editorials, but to say that. >> the entire opinion page belongs to the owner. >> as well. >> when historically. >> those opinion pages have been available. >> for a. >> variety of points. >> of view. >> you know, bezos. himself has. >> said over time that. >> those pages should. >> have a variety. >> of views. >> and. >> i. totally agree with them. >> that's the. nature of. >> democracy, is that we have vigorous, vigorous debate. >> over policies. but this is really an. >> anti-democratic move. >> it says that, no, the only. >> the only. >> opinion that is permitted here is my opinion. and you have to share that. >> and there's no room. >> for you on my pages. >> on. >> on our site if you have an. >> opposing point. >> of view. that is anti-democratic in nature. >> marty, there's no evidence. i haven't heard any from colleagues who work at the

washington post that jeff bezos has been at all involved in the news reporting of the post. i don't know if you've heard anything about that. obviously, something that i'm sure you keep close tabs on. what would it what have you heard and what would it do to the post if that started to become the case? >> well, that would be terrible if it. >> did happen. >> i too have not heard any anything like that. >> i've seen no sign. >> of it. in fact, the post. news coverage. >> has been remarkable. >> i mean, it's been really revelatory. >> they've broken. >> a lot of, you know, one big story after the next. they're telling the public what. >> it needs. >> to know about what's. >> happening in their government. >> that's what a newsroom ought to be doing. >> and they're. >> doing it with a lot of vigor. and then i think with a lot of rigor as well. i would just like to see the owner publicly thank his reporters and editors for that kind of work, because they deserve his gratitude. for it. >> former executive editor of the washington post. marty baron, thank you so much for being with us. we so greatly appreciate it. jim vandehei, you

you also worked at the washington post. tell me about your thoughts about what happened yesterday when you saw the directive, and expand that out a little bit and talk about these conglomerates, you know, like, for instance, the possibility that paramount may settle a deal on 60 minutes lawsuit when 60 minutes stands by its story, but they've got a deal that they want to get through. so, you know, there's been some talk that that they might do that. talk about how all of this plays into blurred lines in the age of trump. >> listen, i come at this as someone who worked at the post 20 years ago, someone who, you know, helped co-found politico and axios. so i also think about it from like the ownership perspective. one, i think you have a lot of owners of media

companies who are buckling to pressure. it's indisputable. you can't really debate it. i think the institutions themselves are still doing good journalism, but owners are buckling. it is it is what it is. and we have to just be eyes wide open that that is in fact happening. listen, to be honest, i've been baffled by almost everything the washington post has done for the last five years. i don't understand the strategy. i don't understand the direction. i don't understand the way they communicate with their staff. i don't understand the hostility between ownership in the staff. listen, it is bezos company. he is losing. it looks like somewhere between 70 million and $100 million a year. he has every right to do whatever the hell he wants to do with the publication. so if he wants to, if he wants to make the editorial page, i guess, like the wall street journal, to me it sounds boring, but maybe he'll figure out a way to make it more exciting. but it feels like the world has a lot of opinion in that area. i'm surprised he didn't just shut down the opinion page. put all your money into to reporting if you want to be the paper for all

of america, which is the way he's been describing it, you probably need a lot of reporters in america to do the job. and so the idea of kind of replicating the wall street journal or the economist and then also saying, hey, if you don't agree with our opinion, there's no way you're going to be on the pages. it just sounds weird. >> co-founder and ceo of axios, jim vandehei, thank you very much for your take. and coming up, we're going to take a quick break from the news and politics to look at some of the big sports headlines this morning, including the nfl owner who got an f grade from his players. morning joe is coming right morning joe is coming right back. 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! biberty: biberty! baby: liberty! biberty: bi-be-rty! baby: biberty! biberty: and now she's mocking me. very mature. mom: hey, that's enough you two! biberty: hey, i'm not the one acting like a total baby. mom: she's two.

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>> stronger and. >> thicker and i finally. >> feel. >> like myself again. >> who? >> there's a. >> tradition in tournament play. >> and not talk about the next step until. >> you've climbed. >> the one in front of you. i'm sure going to the state finals is beyond your wildest dreams, so let's. >> just keep it. >> right there. forget about the crowds the size of the school, their fancy uniforms. >> and remember. >> what got you here. focus on the fundamentals that we've gone over time and time again. and most important, don't get caught

up thinking about winning or. losing this game. if you put your effort and concentration into playing to your potential to be the best you can be, i don't care what the scoreboard says at. >> the end. >> of the game. >> in my book. >> we're. >> going to be winners. >> okay? >> all right. let's go. let's go. let me hear it. go go go go go! >> go. >> victory was locked in before that game. of course they got the dub. went on to the state finals. that was gene hackman in his role as coach norman dale in the iconic 1986 movie hoosiers, which is based on the true story of a small town indiana basketball team. as we've been discussing this morning, hackman died yesterday at the age of 95.

as we remember the late actor this morning, this past weekend, the real hoosiers, the college version at indiana university honored the late hall of fame coach bob knight in sort of a strange way, recognizing the 40th anniversary of his throwing a chair onto the court in the middle of a game. hoosiers head coach mike woodson, who has said he will not return next year as coach, sat in the chair for the duration of saturday's game against purdue. okay, indiana perhaps channeling the glory days of their former coach, pulled off the upset of rival purdue by 15 points. let's bring in the host of pablo torre finds out on meadowlark media. msnbc contributor pablo torre and contributing editor at new york magazine will leach, a big illini fan, we should point out here and now. will. good to see you. too much big ten going on. big, big win over iowa a couple nights ago. will needed that win to get into the tournament. so where do you want to start? you want to start with the chair

throw? >> i want. >> to start with a. strange thing to memorialize. maybe, but. >> it's not. so look, it's not so strange. >> because i'm catholic and these are relics. i'm familiar with how. >> we treat. >> these venerated items. and there was mike woodson speaking, coaching ex cathedra, i believe they say in vatican city. look, bob knight. >> unimpeachable. >> authoritative. unimpeachably great as a coach. the chair throwing thing as a part of his morality play, though, is funny because. >> it's not. what you. >> it's not what we should confuse for the cause of. >> his coaching. >> greatness, but rather a. cost to pay because he's so great. the guy could be deeply unhinged, and he did stuff like this, but that counts also as nostalgia now, which feels like a larger metaphor for lots of other things may be happening at the moment. >> and in fairness, he avoided the ref. it was more of a gesture than anything else. >> the theater. >> of the drama. >> yeah, he threw it sideways. he's also. >> a very good friend of bill. >> parcells. >> which. >> is an odd relation.

>> that tracks. >> i think, all of that tracks, actually. yeah. >> so will leach, what do you make of indiana team? i'm sure you have no love for as an illinois fan, commemorating bob knight's chair throwing. >> yeah, two great things. >> first off, i think it's been. >> forgotten about when bob knight threw the chair. the game had only. >> been. >> going on for five minutes. >> like that was. >> not built up. that was like it was like before the first tv timeout, for crying out loud. >> i think. >> that's the point. and i also love it's also a reminder of. >> how poorly. >> how much better we've gotten the designing. chairs woodson actually had to. >> have like a massive. >> cushion just to sit in that thing, because those old plastic chairs. >> from 40. >> years ago, he might have thrown it as well if he had to sit in that the whole game. yeah, it is kind of wild to me that that kind of impetuous, immature insanity. indiana has said, you know what? those were our good times. those were the things that we need to be able to hold on to. and i guess it worked because they did win. >> so, pablo, it is spring training. thank you. thank goodness. >> mike barnicle could not be

happier radiating spring to my right. >> this is the only time of year where we see him smile. so let's talk about some of the early storylines here. first would be of course, we're seeing the debut of the automatic ball strike system, the challenge system, which you know, is coupled per game, per team. i think it's fine. i don't want to go full robot arms just yet. but also friday shohei ohtani comes back. >> yeah i mean ohtani. it's funny that we just watched him have a season that felt historic, only to realize he was only half of himself. the guy. again, i don't know if it feels like a broken record stuff. when you say he is the only person to ever do something like this, he makes babe ruth being the two way player. mike look look like a pale reflection of what we see when we see ohtani pitch and hit. and so the return of him, yeah, that's i don't want to be numb when we see like a singular all time great actually get to do it because he's healthy again. that feels good.

>> yeah. well especially the dodgers. >> are going to. >> feel good i mean my god what a team they have. will unfortunately for you your cardinals are rebuilding. but you still have a smile on your face and see baseball. >> back in baseball. >> with every day. in the other world. >> the real world. >> thank you. thank you, pablo, for recognizing correctly that the cardinals are in fact the best, have the best fans in baseball. we know it. you're welcome. thank you america. but yeah, at a certain level, a certain level, it's where the cardinals have, like, totally taken the entire step back. they tried to trade their best player this offseason. nolan arenado, and failed, which is a very weird thing to do. the cardinals trying to get rid of their best players and being unable to. it's a very, very strange time, but nevertheless, i i've seen i watched the cardinals lose seven nothing in a spring training game. the yankees yesterday and soaked up every second of it. that is the whole point of spring training is to imagine, is to know that later there are seven zero victories in the future somewhere. maybe. possibly. >> pablo, can i ask you about luca before we get. on the

topic? so luca plays the mavs for the first time in la triple double. i still for the life of me. and maybe you figured this out in your conversations with people that you talk to, don't understand that trade from the dallas side of things. they wanted more defense, i guess. so they get a d who's hurt. they didn't like luka's work ethic or something. he's obviously this magnetic star who fills the arena. what were they thinking when they got rid of this guy? >> can i. >> can i drop a name here? because your question is one that i've experienced in person. i was in the city, and i saw chris rock very randomly, who accosted me, demanding to know why we in the media are behaving like the deep state by not calling out this trade on its face for being absurd. and i resembled the remark because i don't think i sounded the alarm in the way. that's probably sufficient. it's crazy what's happened. it's crazy to trade the best youngest international star under the age of 30, who, by the way, is now guaranteeing

that he is going to show up with one of those revenge bodies you have post-breakup. like we know how the pettiest young star in the league is going to respond when called out because he is, i don't know, enjoying a post-game beer or enjoying hookah, which, by the way, describes, i don't know, a supermajority of nba players, arguably in some form or fashion. so what we're watching is, of course, what the mavericks asked for, which is to say, the greatest gift to the lakers by allegedly a sports deep state. >> and the mavericks, of course, leaking details about their concerns about his conditioning to justify the trade. but even if you're going to trade him, they never shopped him around. they simply went to the lakers. i will, as a celtics fan, never get over it. will. let's turn, though, to your newest piece for new york magazine about espn commentator stephen a smith and some recent buzz around him. wait for it. running for president in 2028. smith, of course, has become one of the most successful sports media personalities in recent years, in part because of his brash

personality and loud, hot takes, which have recently extended to the world of politics. and in the piece, will you write this in a world where expertise, rationality and complexity are under constant assault by cartoonishly vile people, foundationally motivated by willful and aggressive ignorance? the stephen a smith political boomlet represents a deeply flawed kind of counterattack. the reasoning here is nothing more than, hey, they have a bunch of people who don't know anything. maybe we should get our own person who doesn't know anything. stephen a smith for president. my god, i do not think i have ever written a more ridiculous phrase. it's the result of giving up, of ceding everything that actually matters. if he is any sort of answer, then quite frankly, we are not serious people and will. great callback to the name of his original show, quite frankly, on espn. let's talk a little bit more about this. i mean, we don't know how serious to take it, but clearly you're not on board the stephen smith train for 2028.

>> i mean, i wouldn't think it's just a weird i can't believe we're even actually talking about this on the show. but it's remarkable. is the new yorker has written about this. there was a cnbc piece, he was on pod save america discussing this stuff. really kind of semi-seriously, though. it's remarkable when you kind of hear stephen a who for the record, i have no ill will toward him. i think he's generally i don't believe he's a malevolent presence, but it's remarkable to me the way that like at a certain level, you kind of listen to the statements he talks about in politics. they're really not all that deeper than josh allen can't win the big one. it's remarkable how much kind of a surface level discussion of sports transfers over to the way we kind of talk about politics. now, a lot of it feels like facebook feed or like what you would blare into a talk radio station and listen. one of the most incredible things about steve smith, one of the reasons he's so successful, he has the unique ability, as my old colleague tommy craggs once said, to be emphatic on command. and that is important, particularly in television, particularly in like in like 27,

like two minute segments that he does, that's an important skill, unfortunately, in our politics, that seems to have become the primary skill. and so it's remarkable to me to see this skill that he has and he's very entertaining. and listen, i think he's much more entertaining than some of the other people that we may have to be running in in four years for the democratic party. he's certainly very entertaining, but the idea that that is enough or even sufficient, i have to say, i find it kind of kind of wild. >> but will the naysayers on that would just have two words for you, donald trump, right? >> i mean, yeah, okay. sure. and it's working out great. >> okay. the new piece for new york magazine is online now. contributing editor will leitch and host of pablo torre finds out on meadowlark media. msnbc contributor pablo torre, thank you both very much for being on this morning and coming up, democratic governors kathy hochul of new york and andy beshear of kentucky will join

the conversation to discuss the impact d.o.j. cuts are having on their constituents. plus, we'll speak with independent senator angus king about his urgent message to republicans and why he says they should take a stand to protect the constitution. we're back in two minutes. >> that's $225. >> for the night. >> not bad. >> $155 for the night. >> how? >> it's easy. >> when you know where to look. >> trivago compares hotel prices from. >> hundreds of take your business from launch to legendary with shopify. sell more with the world's best converting checkout. turn analytics into opportunities so you can scale further faster. take your business to a whole new level. switch to shopify. start your free

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am. >> curious. >> what does this. >> gold card do? >> it's going to be a route to citizenship, and wealthy people will be coming into our country by buying this card. they will be wealthy and they'll be successful, and they'll be spending a lot of money. >> did this guy just put. >> a cover charge on america? >> it's $5 million to get in, but he'll waive it if you bring in three hot girls with you. i mean, i guess it beats the old way of becoming a citizen, which was to. >> marry donald. >> trump, but still. >> okay. welcome back to morning joe. it is thursday, february 27th. jonathan lemire, mike barnicle and katty kay are still with us. and joining the conversation, we have the editor of the new yorker, david remnick, joining the table. joe, it's a good day to have david here. a lot of different crosscurrents. >> you know, we originally wanted to have him for the 100th anniversary of his extraordinary

magazine. but but there's so much there's so much to talk about, david. and let let's start with something. we already had marty baron on about talking about jeff bezos. strange, strange directive. one that i haven't really heard in my life from a major owner of a newspaper saying, this is the editorial direction we're going in now. that's fine. that's up to obviously, as we all know, every owner can do that. this is the editorial direction we're going to go on our editorial page, but we will broker no dissent. talk about that. and the bigger problem of these conglomerations owning, owning media outlets and the owners of those conglomerations deciding they're going to try to drive them in a way that will curry favor with donald trump. well, look, it to me. >> it's tragic.

>> i my career. >> began there. >> i value. >> the. washington post enormously. >> there are still journalists. there doing great reporting work. but this is a terrible tragedy. this is the paper of the pentagon papers and watergate and so much more. and jeff bezos bought the washington post for half the price of his boat, and he has treated it like a. >> rubber dinghy. >> and it is a terrible tragedy. don graham and katharine graham valued the importance of the washington post and what it can do, and gave it editorial freedom. and we're really forced to give up the paper for. >> financial reasons. >> and they thought they had found in jeff bezos somebody with infinite resources that. >> would. >> you know, support its reporting and its diversity of. opinion and all that makes it important. and now, jeff bezos, out of fear, out of fear. >> of donald trump. >> and what's happening in the world is giving up. it's throwing up his hands and.

>> kissing the ring of the president. >> of the united states, who is. behaving himself. >> as an incipient authoritarian. >> there's just no question about this. and it's a terrible thing, you know, in 1979, david halberstam publishes the powers. >> that be. >> it's about cbs news, time magazine, the la times, and the washington post. and here we are. >> in 2025. >> and all four of those institutions. >> are in many. >> ways diminished. >> and these are. very precious. >> this is what undergirds democracy. >> you know, david, given our background and jonathan's background, the three of us print backgrounds and the thing that concerns me the most about bezos announced yesterday, and you mentioned the word fear, was that the fear that he must have that he obviously does have and other billionaires have it, other tech pros have it that it creeps onto the reportorial product. that is a real fear that i have. do you share? >> of course i have that fear. i

haven't. >> seen it. >> to be honest, in. >> the newsroom. >> of the washington post. but i do know that the fear has and anxiety has leached onto the newsroom floor so that, according to people at the washington post, not a few people have applied to flee the. post for the new york times. but hundreds of people at the washington post have applied for jobs elsewhere, particularly the times, the post and so on. >> they know. >> that this is just not. >> one event. in the same way that killing the endorsement of kamala harris was not just one event. this is accelerating. and jeff bezos looks at elon musk, who has made common cause. >> in. >> you know, in. >> ways that may be comical. on comedy central but are deeply, deeply serious in the fabric of our lives. >> and he wants. >> in on that. he doesn't want to be left out of that oligarchic structure. that's close to power that we know only too well from other

authoritarian states. >> and really, you know, real quick, the post lost about 200,000 subscriptions when they refused to endorse. we'll see what happens here. and a few reporters went public yesterday to say to this point, they have not felt any interference from ownership, but a few of them said if that ever were to happen, they would quit that day. >> and this is all happening. the la times to the newsrooms feeling that chill as well. david, let's talk about russia, the united states and russia holding diplomatic talks today in turkey focused on embassy operations without, they say, discussing ukraine or other security matters. the meeting follows discussions last week in saudi arabia, where secretary of state marco rubio and russia's foreign minister agreed to address long standing tensions over diplomatic, staffing, visas and banking. american officials say the talks will test russia's willingness to engage in good faith if progress is made. they say higher level discussions could follow. this marks the first such meeting since late 2023. meanwhile, during his cabinet meeting, president trump confirmed ukrainian president volodymyr zelensky will travel to washington tomorrow to sign a

long sought minerals deal with the united states. >> president zelenskyy is going to be coming on friday. that's now confirmed, and we're going to be signing an agreement, which will be a very big agreement will be back. >> ukraine. >> can you. >> talk a little bit about what type of security guarantees you're willing to make? >> well, i'm not going to make security guarantees beyond very much. we're going to have europe do that because it's in you know, we're talking about europe is the next door neighbor, but we're going to make sure everything goes well. and as you know, we'll be making a we'll be really partnering with ukraine in terms of rare earth. we very much need rare earth. they have great rare earth. >> earlier in the day, zelensky said at a press conference he was briefed on the deal, which he called a framework. zelensky said any deal would fail if it did not provide for ukraine's future security against russia. ukraine's prime minister posted on social media any deal must ensure ukraine retains control

of its natural resources. so, david, you could call this donald trump shaking him down for protection money, but he's not actually promising any protection. he's saying, give me the rights to these minerals that can be very beneficial to. >> us. >> very little. >> for it. >> but i'm not offering protection, at least at this point. >> no. in the course of a. >> very short. >> snippet from trump and his cabinet meeting yesterday, he did two things. one, he said security. that's that's europe's problem. >> despite the fact. >> we have these. >> postwar agreements. >> including nato, that that that provide a security framework that very. >> much is. >> undergirded by the united states. >> in one sentence. >> that was sold out by donald trump. in the next sentence. >> we're going to we're. >> going to get a deal. >> we're going. >> to get a great deal. >> we love rare. >> earth dollars to donuts. i'm not sure about the depth of what that is, understanding of what that means. it's certainly important in economy and technology. but that was it looks like an extortion racket. and zelensky, who is one of the

great heroes of our time, is being. treated with the back. of our hand. it is our hand. >> as. >> the. >> united states. this is. >> our elected president. it is. >> a shameful. >> disgraceful moment in the history of american foreign policy. you know, jonathan lemire, we also keep hearing from donald trump and the administration just just false facts. and we keep hearing that the united states has given ukraine more aid than europe. that's not true. we keep hearing the word. i mean, the number $350 billion. that's not true. congress has appropriated about $180 billion. and of that, only about half of it has been disbursed already to ukraine. so the number 350 billion is so wildly, wildly out of place. so starting with a $500 billion

offer and then going to this, you know, it would be one thing again, if again, if there was a protection racket and there was another side of that deal, which was, we're going to fight to get you a nato or we're going to support your getting into nato, or you will have a quasi sort of membership status with nato. so putin will know that after this ceasefire, this will be a peace deal, and he's not going to be able to just reload and come after you two years from now, because we will guarantee your security that's not happening yet. and if that doesn't happen yet, i'm trying to figure out the other side of this deal because i don't think there is one. >> no. and yesterday the president reiterated again that there would be no nato membership for ukraine, saying that was not on the table. and david, we've heard from european leaders french macron was in last week. starmer comes in today going to be pushing trump

to say look we have to stand with ukraine. we don't know what putin's next move will be. but trump reflexively seems deferential to moscow. how do you as you look at these talks, which we're we expect to begin in the next few months, whether or not how much of a role ukraine plays remains to be seen. what do you think kyiv can actually get here? how will europe be able to support them if we don't? >> what zelensky can get? >> yeah, yeah. >> he's in a terrible position. he's in a terrible position. he's been put there by the president of the united states. that's what makes this. >> so shameful. >> donald trump prides himself. >> on being. >> a great negotiator, and the. >> notion being that. >> you don't. >> give away. negotiating points. >> ahead of time. but on the ukrainian. >> side. >> he's given away all the. >> negotiating points, whether it has. >> to do. >> with. >> territory. >> alliances, future support, military and diplomatic. >> that part of the deal, he's already. >> tipped his hand, you. >> know. >> overtly, flagrantly. and it's very hard to see what he's asking russia. >> to give up.

>> nothing. >> so you. >> you know, talking to friends, you know, who know what's going. >> on in moscow. it is very clear. >> that vladimir putin. >> is just delighted with. >> this new presidency. >> and hoped for it the way you hope. >> for spring rain. >> and there it is. he is in. fantastic shape. >> and, you know, in. >> the europeans are terrified. if you're an estonian or lithuanian, a pole. you are. >> now feeling extremely vulnerable. >> in the way that you were not before. this is. >> a reordering. >> of european security that has everybody on that continent nervous. >> and the countries you just mentioned, and many more very changing attitudes towards the us, which has its own ramifications. katty kay, jump in. >> yeah. david, the argument that you hear from the trump administration, and i heard it last night from senior republican senators as well, is

that if the americans are there with business interests, then that would in itself be some sort of a guarantee. one republican senator joked to me that the best thing zelensky could do would be billed to trump golf courses. you know, in eastern ukraine that clearly they're going to try and get this money out and that there could be some sort of long term arms deal with the ukrainians, where the ukrainians and the americans come to some sort of ten year commitment over arms sales. do you is there anything in that? i know that the ukrainians are skeptical of it, but is there anything, do you think, in that that might help zelensky? >> well, i think. >> anytime the business people start to. >> see that a certain kind of politics is in their interest, they're apt to move that, whether that's domestic politics or has to do with foreign policy. >> you know, right now, we were discussing. >> earlier musk and bezos, and they clearly. >> know where their interests are, where their government. >> contracts are. and they behave accordingly and in their interest. i don't think.

>> donald trump is going to feel the. >> heat until. >> he starts feeling pressure in. >> in the congress. among. >> business people in the courts. and that that kind of opposition he has to react. >> to even even in a, in. >> a politics that's becoming more and. more authoritarian. he does have to. >> react to that. >> so, david, the new yorker is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. tell us, tell us how the magazine is marking this really incredible milestone, especially in this incredible time. >> well, we're celebrating by. >> being free first and foremost as a as a as a journalistic enterprise. we are. blessed by an ownership that lets. >> us. publish freely. and that's the end of the story. that is that is a rare, rare thing in american life, as. >> we've now seen at other institutions. and so i'm. >> i'm privileged by that and proud of that and happy about that. >> and how we're celebrating it.

>> well, i think if you. >> walk over the new york public library, you'll see a fantastic. archive exhibit we've had, you know, all over town there are exhibits of new yorker art and cartoons. >> but but. >> first and. >> foremost. >> we are celebrating the past. we had a great party the other. >> night that was recounted, to. >> my delight and embarrassment, the new york post, that revelry. but we're really thinking. >> hard about. >> the present and the future. our work. >> you know, no plans to cut back and. >> no plans to. >> to only to up the. >> ante. >> you know, with. >> the real sense of occasion. and we have to and that has to do with. >> the politics. >> of the moment and, and a sense of duty that we've, in a sense of mission that we've inherited from previous editors and, and the great writers that have marked our, our history for so long. >> editor of the new yorker, david remnick, thank you very much for coming on the show this morning. it's very good to see you. >> my pleasure.

>> mika. still ahead on morning joe, new york governor kathy hochul joins us on the heels of her meeting with president trump as she looks to save new york city's congestion pricing plan. we'll talk to her about that, as well as her message to federal workers who were recently laid off. you're watching morning joe. we will be right back. >> want the fastest working glp1 for half the price? ro now offers fda approved weight loss injections cheaper. >> with results. >> you can see faster. lose 15% of your weight with the formula from eli lilly. see if you qualify at roku tv. >> everyone needs a vacation eventually. and when i need a hotel. >> trivago compares hotel prices. >> from hundreds of sites so you can. >> save up. >> to 40%. >> smart.

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stories making headlines this morning. a new study suggests extreme heat can accelerate the aging process, particularly in older adults. researchers say it's not just about the increased risk for heat stroke and death. instead, high temperatures can actually speed up aging at a molecular level. in other words, the finding suggests that heat waves and rising temperatures from climate change could be chemically modifying people's dna. and according to pew research, the long term decline in americans who identify as christian has largely leveled off. overall, 62% of americans call themselves christian. that number has been relatively consistent over the past five years. still, it's a big drop from 2007, when 78%

said the same. the research also finds the share of those who are religiously unaffiliated has leveled off as well. and supporters of former governor andrew cuomo launched a superpac to boost his potential bid for mayor of new york city, according to the new york times. it's the most concrete sign yet that he is preparing to jump into the race in the coming days. cuomo resigned from the governor's office back in 2021 amid a sexual harassment scandal. house minority leader congressman hakeem jeffries of new york was asked about a likely cuomo campaign. >> andrew cuomo is potentially going to jump into the mayor's race as early as this week. you've seen at least one of your colleagues here on the hill endorse him. you called for him to resign a few years ago. should he be engaging in the mayor's race? >> i haven't had a conversation with governor cuomo at this point. i do look forward. >> to. >> speaking with him sooner

rather than later. if, in fact, he's. >> going to jump. >> into the mayor's race and then we'll take it from there. >> would it be good for new york if you did? >> i think he'd be a candidate that a lot of people, as i've heard from the district that i represent, would be very interested in checking out, very interested in checking out. let's bring in new york's democratic governor, kathy hochul. governor, great to have you here. so much to talk to you about your meeting with president trump. but what do you think about the idea of former governor cuomo being the mayor of new york city? >> my job is the governor of the state is to work with. whomever the voters select. >> as their candidate. >> their nominee. for mayor. i've worked with bill de blasio. >> i worked. >> with mayor adams. my job is to work closely. >> unlike the past, when. >> it seemed like. >> there. >> always had. >> to be this. >> inherent battle between albany. >> and new york city. >> i reject that, and the people are. >> better served when they have. >> a governor who's willing. >> to. >> try and help. >> the city, which i've been doing. >> you think cuomo would be a good mayor? >> god only knows. who knows?

we'll see, we'll see. and i don't know if that's going to be the case either. so a lot a lot of unknowns. but my view is. >> my job. >> is to work with whoever. >> the voters want. >> so, governor, speaking of the current mayor of new york city, eric adams. last week, you put some guardrails in place to limit his power. we know that the mayor is been under investigation, has received some sort of deal from the trump doj. do you feel like right now you have left you you had the option to start a process to remove from from power? you opted not to. what would change your mind? could you revisit that decision? >> certainly. >> and it's an. >> extraordinary power. >> to think that one individual. can use her judgment. and say that you've lost the public trust. and so it's. >> not one. >> that you take lightly. but i also know there's a lot of. people in the city who are very. >> concerned about the. >> influence of the trump administration in our city. they're trying very hard to have control over everything, not just immigration, but even. how i control the traffic in new york. so this is a concern. a lot of people are outraged. >> people are very concerned. >> about this, worried. >> but i said, if. >> i can get some controls in

place to. >> give me line. of sight. into budget investigations, legal, and this all. >> has to be approved by. >> the city council. >> i can't even unilaterally do those controls. i was just trying to. >> create some. >> safeguards so. people can dial down the temperature a little bit. and just like i had to do last fall, calm it down and just let people know that. >> we're fighting for them, working. >> for them. and not all this drama. >> that seems to be just so. >> prevalent all the time. new yorkers are just getting exhausted. >> joe. jump in. >> you know, governor, you talked about traffic and we've had congressman mike lawler on who i think wants your job. and he's been he's been he he's been very critical of congestion pricing your role in it i know donald trump also has tried to get involved in traffic patterns in new york city. would love for you to respond to those criticisms from congressman lawyer lawler, as well as pushback from donald trump on congestion pricing. and is it working? >> well, first of all. >> i'd be happier if someone

like a mike lawler and his six colleagues in congress, the republicans, instead of making sure that we have people in our state without health care taking away thousands of individuals, millions of individuals right to be able to get chemo treatments and insulin and to be able to get the health care they need like they voted on the other day saying, we don't care about medicaid. i'd rather they focus on that. but let me get back to congestion pricing. >> governor. governor, can i since you talked about that, i'm really glad you talked about that, because this is a common misconception among republicans. and i know because i used to be one, most republicans don't understand how much rural health care is, is, is controlled, is powered by is, is supported by medicaid. hospitals are shutting down when their medicaid cuts providers massively under under under served in rural communities like upstate new york and areas where i lived in upstate new york. medicaid often

is where people send their parents in upstate new york if they need long term care. and so i am curious. you look at a map of america, and you see the dark blue spots where medicaid is used. upstate new york is one of those places. i'm wondering, what would these medicaid cuts that republicans are promising right now? what would these medicaid cuts do to people who live in communities like i.

lived in in upstate new york? >> joe, you hit on something that is so profound is that the red parts of even new york and across america, these are the people are going to be hit hardest by what the republican members of congress did, and by drinking the kool-aid and not even questioning the merits of destroying a program that so many of their own constituents, their own constituents, rely on. if you go back memory lane, 2011 i got elected to congress in the most republican district in the state of new york, large swaths of upstate new york. you know how i did that? the paul ryan budget came out and declared war on medicare, and i was able to take that as a long shot democrat that no one thought i had a chance to win and weaponized that and say, you did it. these seniors up in in wyoming county and orleans county, in niagara county, you've heard the health care system. you've made sure this little child who's got leukemia can never get get treatment again because now their insurance company can drop them. that's how i won by a fairly good margin in a district that i

had no chance. that's what we have to remember. these republicans need to own that vote starting now. show up at their offices and say, did you ask what the impact is, joe? i have rural hospitals on the verge of collapse. doctors don't want to go there, but that does not mean i don't have high pockets of poverty. i have people who have major dental problems. i'm trying so hard to eradicate this, and i've got my own republicans from new york working against me, against their constituents. this is all about basic health care, maternal health care. this is about getting your insulin treatments. this is about trying to take care of your cancer. and this is about your grandma and grandpa and maybe your parents sitting in a nursing home, because that's the largest expense for medicaid. so that's what they need to own. as i've said before, joe, they break it, they own it. and you now own this. >> and we're going to get to congestion pricing. i just want to finish on one thought that again, i don't think most republicans that voted this way know. or if they do know, man, it sure is a vote against their own constituents. if they're from rural areas and they represent upstate new york in rural america, almost 50% of children get their health care through medicaid. about 20% of adults under the age of 65 get their health care from medicaid. more people, especially children, a higher percentage of children and adults get their health care in rural america from medicaid. then do people in urban areas. so they are specificoi their own constituents, whether it's upstate new york, whether it's upstate in michigan. i mean, it is it is it's remarkable that they're voting against their own constituents interests. >> and i'm very happy to remind their constituents of that very fact that their own elected leaders have betrayed them and everything that was promised. remember how on day one of the

trump administration, prices are going to go down? you know what the cost of eggs is in new york city are? if you can even find them, you can find them. it's it went up 40% since donald trump was elected. so instead of going down, they're going up even higher. so people are starting to wake up. they're saying, wait a minute, this is not this is not what i thought i was voting for. yeah, it's happening even sooner than i thought. i mean, literally in the first few months here, i thought this would take a little longer, but my god, they're self-destructing so fast. >> mike. >> you know, governor, we're sitting here this morning in new york city, arguably one of the three most important cities in the world. and as governor. >> i'd say number one. well. >> washington's pretty. >> i mean, i lived in i get it, okay. >> but number. >> one, we're number one. >> i don't want to do geography with you. >> but there's. >> buffalo and there is buffalo. yeah, but you know, you're talking about, you know, congestion, parking, traveling, talking subways here in new york, which is the easiest way to get around. and yet the governor of new york, that plays an enormous role in new york city in terms of public safety. finally, new york city after 2 or 3 tries, has a really, really excellent police commissioner. jessica tish, how do you, as governor of new york, help new york city and help the police department, help the subways, help the concept of safety, reducing the concept of fear. >> this is the most important thing i can do as governor is to provide dollars for public safety and programing. we have spent over $1 billion on public safety, much of it for new york city. you know, we're doing right now. i was told that we should have more police officers on the overnight trains. they couldn't afford the overtime. we're picking up the tab. no governor has had that level of cooperation to help solve city problems, probably in its history. but i know that if this city is paralyzed with fear and the thought of something happening to themselves or their children on the streets of new york, then all of a sudden it starts to suppress the vitality of the city. and people don't want to come here. we have turned the corner on this. i will work with the commissioner of police. she is outstanding. and she'susown t earth, credible person who says, i understand how to get this done. so i put cameras in all the subway trains. i said, it's they said it's going to take two

years. they said you're going to get it done. now, every single car has a camera to keep an eye on things. i have national guard all over the streets and also the subway. i said i need to have a physical presence to calm it down, especially over the summer in the fall when things were very anxious and paying for the overtime. so. so we are making a difference. i mean, i want you to know that it may not feel it, and i'm not trying to tell everybody how they should feel. but the crowds are back, the energy is back, and people are safer than they had been. and the numbers are just extraordinary. but we're not stopping. we never, never say we're done with fighting crime. we have to keep doing it. but i want to keep partnering with the city and our commissioner as well. but congestion pricing, i love to talk about that too, because that is that is an area where we have a major conflict. i want you to process this distinction here. the trump administration has said that it should be up to the states to decide whether women can control their own bodies, right. states should decide whether they should control their own bodies. but they're telling me as a state that i can't control my own traffic, that i have to go to them for approval to control traffic in new york city and deal with a paralyzing congestion problem that we're trying to after decades of people talking about it, we finally got it done. and guess what? it is working. everybody should see this brochure that i designed. i'm very proud of

this, but it shows, you know, all the numbers, the traffic. >> this for this brochure. >> well. >> i. >> i did make it for the president, but i'm willing to share it with all of you. >> okay. >> i took this to the white house when i was there with the governors in the afternoon. i said to the president's staff, i said, i still need that conversation about congestion pricing that he promised me. so i got called back to go over there at 6:00 last friday evening. i went over there and went into the white house by myself, and i was greeted by serious members of his cabinet were in his office as well. we sat all together. but i said, this president, you're a new yorker. first of all, the most offensive thing i found in the letter from sean duffy was citing new jersey, saying they don't like this program. i said, mr. president, we're both new yorkers. what do we care what new jersey thinks? come on. well, it's a lovely place. but you know what? you're right in. if you are taking the tunnels is 48% faster. so i want new jersey residents to come here. come. you're part of an important part of our economy. and if you're still driving, and although 90%

of you take public transit, which is why i need to keep this money coming to invest in it, the vast majority are taking public transit. but if you are driving, i just gave you the gift of time. i mean, yes, i'm sorry there's a cost to it, but that's what the concept of congestion pricing is all about. this city is in a different place than it was before congestion pricing. i need to continue proving this to the president. >> ambulances can get to the hospital. that bottom line. >> delayed busses are now down 48%. kids are getting to school sooner. it has had a profound impact on the lives of new yorkers. we have to fight to keep it going. and that's why i'm taking it to the courts. and i'll take it wherever i can. and they're telling us we have to have an orderly system by the end of march. i'm saying i'm going to have to have an orderly resistance. we are not turning off the cameras. >> as you spoke new yorker to new yorker, to the president of united states, what did he say? how did he respond to your your case? >> he said, it's a terrible tax, you know, a terrible tax on working class. and i said, the vast majority of people go into that district, take public transit. you're going to have to give me $15 billion to invest in a subway system. then if i lose

$15 billion that we're able to leverage with the money brought in by congestion pricing, that i won't be able to fix the stations and the repairs and the new the new busses i need. and i said to everybody, and when he sent out his his trump is the king picture in the paper, if you saw that the cover that what they tweeted was when he said, long live the king when he killed congestion pricing, i said, you know what, i need this to work. i need this to work. and we cannot be dictated to by someone who calls himself a king. this is america. >> this is new york. >> he said. i said that, yeah, i said. >> but what did he say? >> i just said, i don't know what he said. i just said, you know, it's not about being a king. it's not about being a king. and so i'm trying to find a common ground here. i want him to understand that this is a city that he cares about, and he understands it more than any president. since fdr. we haven't had a new york president, but more than anyone, he's got property here. he understands we want to make sure that this city keeps moving. so i was just trying to appeal to him as a new yorker and say, this is good for new york. i said i wasn't sure

what was going to work like this guarantee i was this is a little bit of an experiment, but i think other cities are going to look what we're doing here and saying we reduce congestion. we also improve the quality of life dramatically for everyone who lives in this district. so we're a model, and i just hope the president will give us another chance to prove this. and there's a lot of friends he has and business leaders and people who own the real estate and see what's happening. they should be calling him up and talking to him about this. so, you know, it's it ain't over. it ain't over. >> new york state's democratic governor kathy hochul, thank you very much. i didn't think it was. appreciate having you on. and coming up, independent senator angus king of maine joins us following his speech on capitol hill calling out colleagues amid what he believes is a constitutional crisis. morning joe is back in just a moment. >> lumify. >> it's kind of amazing. >> wow. lumify eye drops dramatically reduce redness. >> in one minute. >> and look at the difference.

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>> oh, i love that color. whoo! that was a lot. >> oh. >> there's more. >> like, lots more. >> donald trump is defending the mass firings of federal watchdogs. >> our federal government. >> now can. >> discriminate against. >> the citizens of the country. >> we are. >> all watching and waiting to see who is going to hold the line. >> don't miss the weekends. >> saturday and sunday mornings. >> at 8:00. >> on msnbc. >> welcome back. 42 past the hour. it's been five weeks since president trump took office for the second time, and his administration has reshaped government on everything from law and order to the role of the free press. with that as our backdrop, our next guest took to the senate floor last week with a message to his colleagues it's time to wake up. >> this isn't just a battle between the senate and the house and the president, and they're fighting about powers. no, the reason the framers designed our

constitution the way they did was that they were afraid of concentrated power. the responsibility of the president is to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, not write the laws, not deny the laws, not ignore the laws, not pick which laws he or she likes to take care that the laws are faithfully executed. that's the responsibility of the president. and right now, those laws are being ignored. power was divided for a reason. there's some criticism now in the press saying people are talking about a constitutional crisis. they're crying wolf. no, this is a constitutional crisis. it's the most serious assault on our constitution in the history of this country. it is the most serious assault on the very structure of our constitution, which is designed to protect our freedoms and our liberty in the history of this country. it is a constitutional crisis. and i'll tell you what makes it worse. the president and the vice president are already hinting

that they're not going to obey decisions of the courts. what's it going to take for us to wake up? when i say us, i mean this entire body to wake up to. what's going on here? is it going to be too late? is it going to be when the president has accreted all this power and the congress is an afterthought? what's it going to take? i mean, the offenses keep piling up. the president over the weekend famously quoted napoleon, when you're saving your country, you don't have to obey any law. wow. a president of the united state, quoting napoleon about not having to obey the law. >> an independent senator, angus king of maine, joins us now. it's great to have you back on the show, senator. katty kay has the first question for you, sir. katty. >> senator, i've known you for a long time, and you are not given to making speeches lightly like that on the floor. you choose your words carefully. what? who

were you talking to? who was your audience? what were you trying to achieve when you stood up there on the senate floor and spoke to your colleagues? >> i was trying to capture the conscience of the republican senators because that's where the power is. they have a 53 vote majority in the senate, and they can go to the white house and tell the president, slow down. this is not the way our system is designed. and they can they have some influence. that's what i'm really talking about. what's shocking to me is that we're not standing up for the constitution. and when the executive, when the president cancels a whole agency created by congress, whether it's aid or the consumer finance board or the independent agencies that were set up almost 100 years ago to protect the public as independent agencies, the congress is not only giving up its power, but as i said in the speech, we're violating the fundamental structure of the constitution, which was there in

order to protect us. the framers were students of human nature, and they understood a very important principle. power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. therefore, they divided power. that's what the constitution is all about. it divides power between the president, the congress, the courts, the states, and the federal federal government so that nobody would have all the power, because that inevitably leads to abuse. >> you're an independent. you you vote with democrats, by and large. but i know you have good relationships with your republican colleagues as well. do you think they're open to your message? when you have your private conversations with them? and i don't want you to disclose names, but are you hearing. are you hearing murmurs of disquiet? >> i think, yes, i think the answer is disquiet is a good word. i think they're uneasy. i think many of them understand what's going on, although their public posture as well. the courts will protect us. the courts will take care of us. well, there are two problems with that. number one, it's a

cop out. we're not holding up our end of the constitutional bargain. we all take an oath when we come in to defend the constitution. not a president or a party to defend the constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. i think it's fascinating that the framers had an idea there might be domestic enemies, the constitution. so it's our responsibility. and the other the other part about the courts is, as i mentioned in the speech, the vice president and the president have already made noises about not obeying court orders. what happens then? that's where i think it is our responsibility in the congress. and again, i want to repeat this is an institutional jealousy. although madison in the federalist thought institutional jealousy would would protect this division of power, he didn't contemplate parties. that's one of the problems. but it is an institutional jealousy. it's the fundamental structure that keeps us free from an autocrat, from a dictator, from

a monarch. these guys in 1787 had just fought a brutal seven year war against a king. they didn't want concentrated power. they wanted it to be divided. and if donald trump doesn't like, i'd come to congress, pass a bill. he's got a majority in both houses to abolish it, but don't do it in the middle of the night with this guy, musk, and nobody knows who he's working for or who's what his authority is. you know, we've got a bunch of 25 year olds deciding cutting programs. here's another example the other day. and this tells you where we are. they point, someone pointed out that the ebola prevention program was cut in the aid cuts. musk said, oh, that was a mistake. we're going to fix it. think of the implications of that. what he's really saying is i get to decide which programs we fund and which we don't. that's not the way our system is set up. that's not the way, the way this thing is supposed to work again, to protect our freedoms. people who are cheering, all of this going

on, boy, they're going to have some second thoughts when the eye of sauron turns to them. >> as it will. >> senator, good morning. it's great to have you on. in fact, elon musk just yesterday stood up in that cabinet meeting and sort of laughed off what happened with ebola, saying, we made a mistake and we fixed it. we reported this morning the washington post, saying that actually hasn't been fixed yet, and that money has not been put back where it needs to be to fight ebola. just one example. i'm just curious as to follow up on what katie said about your fellow senators, republicans and members of the house as well. thinking of speaker mike johnson, who is a constitutional lawyer, when they say. >> i wonder what constitution he's a lawyer of? >> well, that's a that's a fair question. in many cases, going back to the 2020 election forward, where he helped donald trump with all that. but when they say, look, we're doing this because the country elected donald trump with a mandate. we just have to carry out what he says to do strikes a lot of people as a fundamental, fundamental misunderstanding of the role of congress and the checks and balances of our

government. so what do you make of that argument that these, these men and women view their role as a rubber stamp of what donald trump wants, whatever it may be, and even if it violates the constitution? >> well, i think the best answer to that is to go back to the oath that we all take the oath doesn't isn't to a president, it isn't to a party. it's to the constitution itself. and the constitution is very clear about the division of power. in fact, the constitution, as i mentioned in the speech, doesn't give the president all that much power. he commander in chief. yes, but the fundamental responsibility of the president in the constitution is to, quote, take care that the laws be faithfully executed. i emphasize the word executed. that means carry forward. it doesn't mean write the laws, create the laws, ignore which laws you like. and for a member of congress to say, well, we got to do whatever the president says is a fundamental misunderstanding and in my view, a violation of our of our oath and our obligation to the people

of this country to keep intact the division of power, which is what keeps us safe. >> independent senator angus king of maine, thank you very much for coming on the show this morning. we appreciate it. good to see you, sir. and still ahead, democratic governor andy beshear of kentucky will be our guest to weigh in on the potential cuts to medicaid and how it could harm residents in his state. plus, actress julia schlaepfer will be live in studio to discuss season two of the hit drama series. 1923. also ahead, we remember the life and incredible filmography of oscar winning actor gene hackman, who died yesterday at the age of 95. morning joe will be right back. >> vanity fair. >> rolling stone. >> and the los angeles times. are all talking about black bag. >> there's a traitor in the house. >> who is the suspect? your

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>> coming up on morning joe, hhs secretary robert f kennedy jr seems to minimize the first reported u.s. death from measles in a decade. we'll show you his comments and speak to a leading health expert about the fast moving outbreak in texas. moving outbreak in texas. morning joe will be right back. my mom used to tell me if you want to be a champion you got to be a champion at life. i got to watch her play at her highest from when i was born. from one generation to the next, to the next, we don't stop. i always wanted to know why i'm the way i am. my curiosity led me to ancestry.

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prevention. i think we all want ebola prevention. so we restored the ebola prevention immediately. >> okay. elon musk taking center stage during president trump's first cabinet meeting of his second term. we'll have much more from that meeting featuring someone, of course, who is not a cabinet secretary nor a nominee to become one. we will also bring you the very latest on a developing story, the growing measles outbreak in texas. as hhs secretary robert f kennedy jr seemed to downplay its spread yesterday and will dig into the mineral rights deal between the us and ukraine ahead of president volodymyr zelensky's visit to the white house tomorrow. good morning and welcome to morning joe. it is thursday, february 27th. along with joe, willie and me, we have the co-host of our fourth hour contributing writer at the atlantic, jonathan lemire. msnbc contributor. mike barnicle is

with us. us special correspondent for bbc news, katty kay. she is the host of the rest is politics podcast and the host of way too early. ali vitali joins us, along with co-founder and ceo of axios, jim vandehei. joe, we have a lot of news to get to this morning. but we begin with news that broke overnight. very sad news. >> yeah yeah yeah. sad news. gene hackman. willie geist, one of the great actors of our time, gene hackman, passed away just he was such an iconic actor in so many roles. became famous during the french connection. but but, you know, kids, i think willie, probably you and i may have seen him first or one of the first movies, hoosiers, where he played a tough basketball coach and in a movie that was so inspirational. but it's funny, while he was filming

it on set with dennis hopper, he hated the idea of the movie. he thought it was corny, and he said to dennis hopper, i hope you have invested well, dennis, because after this movie we're never going to work again. and then he saw a rough cut of it and realized he was once again involved in a project that was pure magic. >> you know, that movie could have been corny, if not in the hands of gene hackman and dennis hopper. they were so good in it, and it's still almost 40 years later. i always stop when it's on, and i always get choked up throughout that movie. yeah. gene hackman and his wife betsy were found dead in their home in new mexico. their dog too. we don't know what exactly happened. the police say there is no indication of foul play. certainly. hackman, though considered one of the greatest of all time, he's a first ballot hall of famer. you can go to bonnie and clyde and the french connection. the superman movies were on the other day. he's a great lex luther in those

movies. hoosiers, of course. unforgiven. he won an academy award for that. mississippi burning, you can go on and on. and the one i know, joe shares my love for royal tenenbaums. >> royal. >> tenenbaums. >> royal tenenbaums. >> my favorite. >> kids call me royal. >> that's right. similarity. >> that's right. >> gene hackman. >> yeah. also. >> don't forget. >> his great role in get shorty. >> yeah. >> he was great in that. wide range. wide range of acting abilities. he was who he was off. i met. >> him a. >> couple of times off screen, and he was the same off screen as many of his characters were on screen. a legitimate, legitimate movie star. >> yeah. so great. also. oh. >> sorry, john. >> no, just going to say jonathan and the staying power here. here. we're watching him in film in the early 2000, royal tenenbaums. but think about it. you talk to somebody who was a big movie fan in the early 70s to talk about french connection.

bonnie and clyde, you talk to somebody. it's a big fan in the early 80s, you talk about lex luthor and superman, late 80s. what would they talk about? they talk about hoosiers in the 90s. people would be talking about what an incredible job he did in unforgiven, the 2000. my favorite movie thus far of the 2000 royal tenenbaums. you talk about a guy that was iconic for generations. i mean, it's quite a talent. >> yeah. and such a as not just the duration of his career, but the breadth and the different roles that we talked about. his, you know, ventures into comedy. also the birdcage, he's in that, you know, he of course, the drama he was in crimson tide and the conversation, the list goes on and on. he has a filmography that's as as strong as anyone's, willie. and, you know, someone who also made a decision about 15, 20 years ago to walk away to retirement to head to new

mexico. but certainly, you know, will be long, long remembered for he'll be remembered for as long as we have movies. >> let's take a look back now at his career with nbc news correspondent gadi schwartz. >> if the car chase scene in the french connection set the gold standard for all hollywood chases to follow, then it star. gene hackman has come to define what a true actor is, with the uncanny ability to vanish into any role. hackman drew from within to put nuance into all the tough guy roles he portrayed. >> i hear. >> he's a gun just for show. >> a child of a broken home who lied about his age so he could join the marines. hackman worked many odd jobs, all to finance auditions. >> every day was was like. >> a. >> new challenge. >> it was going out and trying. >> to get that job. >> and trying. >> to and doing those auditions. and i loved it. >> kicked out of the pasadena playhouse, it wasn't until hackman was 36, playing the simple minded buck barrow and bonnie and clyde. >> who.

>> when hollywood took notice soon after his tough as nails good cop popeye doyle in the french connection earned him his first oscar. >> the prestige involved with. >> an oscar means that. >> you. >> have been. in a couple. >> of films that that. >> have. >> made some money and that they can take a chance on. >> you in hollywood. kept taking. >> chances are. >> hackman won his second oscar for playing a bad cop in 1992, unforgiven, but he felt the tough guy roles never really pushed him. >> we were. >> cast so close to type in in films that that you can only do so much. >> within your. >> own persona. i hope you're hungry. i could. >> eat a horse radish. >> towards the end of his career, hackman found he preferred comedy for the challenge. >> comedy is harder because you. know it isn't arbitrary. if they don't. >> laugh. >> it doesn't work. >> the problem. >> is always shrugging off the label of movie star. hackman remained an actor in his own words. >> i guess.

>> movie star. >> is robert redford and paul. >> newman. >> and kind of guys that i idolized or visualized. >> when i was. >> a real. >> young guy. >> moving to santa fe. after retiring, hackman continued to work as a novelist, publishing his fifth book in 2013. always letting his actions speak for him. he on the written page and the silver screen. >> wow. >> gadi schwartz reporting there. gene hackman was 95 years old. michael. i was reminded, watching that he's of a different generation, where he lied about his age as a teenager so he could join the united states marine corps. >> yeah. >> he did. he did five years in the marine corps. >> yeah. >> i think like late, late 40s after world war. >> two. >> right after 1950s. yeah, he was quite a guy. he was quite a guy. he was a legitimately ordinary human being when you meet him. i had the good fortune of meeting him several times and went to see him in santa fe about 5 or 6 years ago, and he was the same then as he was when i first met him in 1973 on the

set of a bridge too far in nijmegen, holland. and he was the star of that cast, and he had a lot of fun making that movie. we won't go into it now, but he was a really good guy. >> well. >> we'll also keep following what happened there. yeah. all right. two other big stories this morning. an unvaccinated child in texas has died of measles amid a growing outbreak in that state. and others. nbc news correspondent priscilla thompson has the latest. >> a fast-moving measles outbreak turning deadly in texas. health officials in lubbock confirming an unvaccinated school aged child has died. >> we are. >> now seeing a very. >> serious consequence of what. happens when we have a measles in our community. >> sending shockwaves through west texas, especially among those like ben ham, whose 18 month old foster daughter is immunocompromised. >> she's around a cold. >> any type. >> of sniffles and. >> she's. >> not protected. she could be in the. >> icu tonight.

>> ham laid up her second dose of the measles vaccine, as cases in texas climbed to at least 124, with 18 patients hospitalized. officials say almost all babies and children who are unvaccinated or awaiting their second dose. hhs secretary robert f kennedy jr, a vaccine skeptic responding to the outbreak for the first time. >> we put out a post on it yesterday. >> and we're going to. >> continue to follow it. it's not unusual. we have measles. >> outbreaks every year. >> doctor anna montanez is on the front lines in lubbock. she says while cases occur annually, she hasn't seen them this widespread. >> do we get it in patches every year? maybe that is true. but it. >> is in. >> areas where. there is no vaccination. there's low vaccination. >> rates. >> if you will. >> measles cases have been reported in eight states, including nine in neighboring new mexico. officials have not said they're connected. experts say those born before 1957 likely have natural immunity

because of how widespread the disease was. but those vaccinated between 1957 and 89 before a live virus was used, or when only one shot was given, might consider a booster. as parents here hope this outbreak will soon be over. >> nbc's priscilla thompson reporting. and you know, mika, this is this is this measles outbreak is happening in places with low vaccination rates. and you look at some of the counties in texas where there's been a jump in measles cases. there's a direct overlay where you see a jump in parents telling schools that they do not want their children to be vaccinated. and it's jumped to almost 20% in one of the counties that's at the center of this. and it's important to remember. it's important to remember because of vaccines, that in 2000, the

measles, measles itself was declared eliminated in the united states. >> not supposed to. be here. >> and here we are again. >> yeah. joining us now, nbc news medical contributor, doctor vin gupta. doctor gupta, can you confirm that if vaccines are used properly, is the measles something that at this stage in time should be deadly in america? and secondly, what do you make of the hhs secretary saying that these these things happen in scattered ways across the country and seeming to downplay it? >> well, good morning, mike. >> first of all, joe. >> is exactly right. one dose of this of the measles vaccine. >> is part of our. >> our usual. >> routine pediatric regimen. >> 93% effective. >> at preventing measles. two doses, 97%. effective for all the parents out. there for their babies. they get them at year

one. >> and ideally at year five. >> so that's. >> the routine. >> joe is. >> exactly right. exemption rates in places. >> like gaines county, >> texas. >> to just. >> emphasize this point are now up to 18 to. >> 20% in 2023. >> fully eradicated, we thought, in 2000. so that's the reality that we're dealing with in terms of just fact. >> checking rfk. >> it's important to realize. between the years 2020. >> and 2023. >> mika, on average, we saw about anywhere from 50 to 100 cases in. total in those years between 2020 and 2023. so, no, this is not just business as usual. this is unusual. we've seen 124 cases and it's february 26th. so something unusual right now is happening. and let's just also put a finer point on it. his former organization that he just resigned from is actively putting out information as we speak this week, stating that somehow the vaccine itself, because quote unquote, it's ineffective to their use their

words is the reason why this is happening in texas, this outbreak versus the low vaccine rates. >> so this. >> is happening. his organization is putting out this information. i don't know a single credible doctor that you would want caring for your family or for your loved one that believes or wants any of this. >> doctor gupta, good morning. this obviously was settled science for a long time, viewed as one of the great miracles of the 20th century, along with the polio vaccine in 1955, this vaccine for measles in 1963. we've been using it as a country, as a world for more than a half century. so what are your fears as a physician, as this disinformation that's being pumped out from certain quarters really does make its way into the bloodstream of america. >> you know, i mean, really. what's sad. >> here is. >> that this is not to. >> be trifled with. >> measles is an extremely serious viral illness. it spreads through respiratory droplets. you and i used to talk about droplet spread. >> all the time. >> covid. but what does that

mean? that means if somebody is infected, unvaccinated, they. cough or sneeze. they will. these studies have shown 9 in 10 people around them. if they are also unvaccinated, will get infected. if that contagious. so that's number one. it's very contagious. number two, it is extremely serious. the lubbock, texas pediatric hospital, their spokesperson emphasized it. they said that there's 18 kids in icu or roughly almost 20, all of them in it. it appears for respiratory issues, meaning that the complication that we worry about pneumonia is likely at play. so this is this is a very serious illness. 1 in 4 people unvaccinated, infected end up in the hospital. so severe illness, whether it's pneumonia or brain swelling, otherwise known as encephalitis. very, very common. this is not uncommon. extreme consequences are quite common. coming up, what yesterday's cabinet meeting says about the power dynamic between president trump and elon musk. we'll run through that straight ahead on

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senior white house correspondent garrett hake has the latest. >> president trump converting his first cabinet meeting into a rolling press conference. >> illegal border crossings have plummeted. >> touting progress. >> we're cutting down the size of government. we have to. we're bloated. we're sloppy. we have a lot of people that aren't doing their job. >> and immediately turning the spotlight, not on a cabinet member, but on elon musk, head of his department of government efficiency, to defend his controversial directive that all federal workers email a list of accomplishments from last week or face termination. >> i think that email perhaps was misinterpreted as a performance review, but actually it was a pulse check review. if you have a pulse in your neurons, you can reply to an email. this is, you know, i think, not a high bar. >> musk was surrounded by several cabinet members who had pushed back on his order and instructed employees not to respond. musk insisting that was fine. >> we're going to send another email. our goal is not to be capricious or unfair. the email could simply be what i'm working

on is too sensitive or classified. to describe. literally just that would be sufficient. >> the president publicly backing musk. >> and let the cabinet speak just for a second. >> exactly. >> very unhappy. >> to say it. >> you know. >> if you are, will throw them out. >> of here. >> and warning federal workers who've not yet responded remain at risk of losing their jobs. >> there's million people that haven't responded, though, elon. they are on the bubble now. maybe they don't exist. maybe we're paying people that don't exist. >> it comes as a new budget office memo obtained by nbc news instructs federal agencies to prepare for mass layoffs as the trump administration focuses on reducing federal spending. >> if we don't do this, america will go bankrupt. >> while musk acknowledging doge made mistakes, including cutting funding for ebola prevention. >> when we make mistake, we'll fix it very quickly. we restored the ebola prevention immediately and there was no interruption. >> the president also making

headlines on ukraine, revealing president zelensky will visit the white house friday for the signing of an agreement to jointly develop the country's valuable rare earth minerals to recoup billions in u.s. aid sent to ukraine. the president, suggesting the deal would form its own kind of security guarantee for ukraine. >> it's this sort of automatic security because nobody is going to be messing around with our people when we're there. >> and saying for the first time, russian president putin will have to make concessions. >> he will. he will. >> it's going to have to. >> vice president vance, heading off a question about what exactly those concessions would be. >> we're not going. to do the. >> negotiation in. >> public with the american media. he's doing the job of a diplomat. >> the president also speaking about the middle east after posting this ai generated video featuring his name and face in a redeveloped gaza, a reference to his controversial plan to take over and rebuild it. opposed by key arab allies. the president slamming hamas for how it handled the latest release of dead hostages. as the cease fire

deal moves into a potential second phase. >> this is a vicious group of people, and israel is going to have to decide what they're doing. >> all right. nbc's garrett haake with that report and a quick fact check for you on what musk said about ebola prevention being quickly restored. the washington post reports current and former u.s. aid officials say u.s. aids ebola prevention efforts have been largely halted since musk and his allies moved last month to cut the global assistance agency and freeze its outgoing payments. so i don't think they put it back a joke. >> well, this is the problem. it's a problem with the lack of transparency, where it's basically what they're saying is, hey, trust us, we've restored a lot of funding. you go back and you find out that that's not actually the case. and a lot of times the agencies don't even have the answers. we

talked yesterday to josh dorsey, who wrote wrote a story about how even the lawyers representing the government don't know the current status because of things when they're trying to defend the white house, the administration, because there's so much ambiguity out there. and of course, this is something, jim vandehei, that that you wrote about, about dodge, how it's a drop in the bucket, how how damage is being done, whatever pain is being exacted, they're not getting the gain on the other side. i'm curious, given all of that, what your take was yesterday on the cabinet meeting and specifically elon musk's role in it. >> i mean, there's so much in that clip. >> to digest, right? >> the truth is, i think the american people are with trump directionally, right, that okay, the government is bloated. yes. there's a lot of waste. yes, you can probably cut a lot of roles.

i think. >> where. >> they start to lose the american people is if you're operationally sloppy or cruel in how you're doing it. and i think you see some of the slop in terms of having to hey, we kind of screwed up the ebola thing. it's ebola, right? like there's ways to avoid that, which is, hey, go through the budget, figure out the things that need to change, give people a reasonable amount of time to make those changes, then make them. it doesn't need to be done in a chaotic way. and when i say cruel, the cruel part is imagine the person who takes a job in government. are some people disingenuous? maybe. but most people are like, hey, i want to serve my country. there's an agency that exists. they didn't create the agency, they didn't create the slot. they took a job to serve their country, and now they're being told that they might be either fraudulent, they might not exist. they're terrible at their job, even though no one's probably even looked at their job performance before making that claim. and you just saw a lot of that in that cabinet meeting. and the truth is, even if you did all the stuff that ellen is talking

about, we pay three, i think $3 billion a day just on the interest on our debt. and so these little bitty tucks around the corner aren't going to do a darn thing. the truth is, if you want to change the deficit, you want to get rid of the debt. you either need to raise taxes a lot or you need to cut defense. you need to cut social security. you need to cut medicare. you need to cut medicaid or some combination thereof, because that's where we spend the vast majority of our money. and so a lot of this is a is a is a sideshow. unless you're really going to get serious about trying to reduce the size of government, which is really hard work, which is why republicans are having a difficult time coming together to figure out how can they both decrease taxes by up to $5 trillion, right. but retain all of those programs? >> coming up, a democratic governor who knows how to win a red state. kentucky's andy beshear joins us with his message to voters facing an uncertain future under president

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>> how long. >> have. >> we waited for something like this? we'll have to. >> alert suppliers, coordinate shipments. already alerted. >> already coordinated. every supplier. >> sees changes. >> as they happen. >> since when can we just scale up mid-cycle? >> since we brought in. >> people who know. >> know b.d.o. >> each week, veteran lawyers andrew weissman and mary mccord break down the latest developments inside the trump administration's department of justice. >> the administration doesn't. >> necessarily want. >> to be questioned. on any of. >> its policy. >> main justice. new episodes drop every tuesday. >> we saw elon musk take kind of a powerful role. did anything about how he wielded his power surprise you? do you not need a katrina level type of response that is rebuilding to. >> make sure it won't happen again? you've obviously. >> made a decision to resign. are there any lessons that can. >> be learned. >> as you're talking to members of your congregation? what do you tell them about how to stand up for. >> their own moral.

>> beliefs, but still find grace. >> in this moment? >> if this continues, the country will become de facto bankrupt? it's not an optional thing. it is an essential thing. that's that's the reason i'm here and taking a lot of flak and getting a lot of death threats, by the way. i mean, like, stack them up, you know? but if we don't do this, america will go bankrupt. that's why it has to be done. and i'm confident at this point. knock on wood, you know, knock on my wooden head. the a lot of wind up there that we can actually find $1 trillion in savings. >> back to that cabinet meeting. first, just the optics of it. president trump called on one person to speak in that cabinet, elon musk, who is not a member of the cabinet. he also then had all of his cabinet officials applaud musk's efforts, saying, don't you like what doge is doing? and they all sort of like

on command had to clap, even though we don't have reported over the last few days that so many of these cabinet leaders were completely taken by surprise, by that musk email, now seems like it's going to be going out again, pushing more people out of the workforce. we should also note social security administration is being told to instruct to cut its staff by half. the labor department, which of course enforces equal employment opportunity laws, has been told to cut their staff by 90%. katty, there's going to be by mid-march. the trump administration wants to utterly gut the federal workforce. that's their plan. at the same time, we have reporting today that the faa is terminating a $2.4 billion deal with verizon and instead going to give that contract to elon musk's starlink. we also know that so much of this is going to be used to fund for tax cuts, which are going to largely benefit the rich. so we're already seeing some anger from voters from republicans in these town halls. and now you're taking away

services, rewarding musk and trump's rich friends. where do you think that this is now going to break through? we're going to see some real opposition. >> yes. so there is i mean, i think there is some opportunity here for democrats. and you're starting to hear some of them talk about this. there's some new data by a group called grow progress, which does big ai searches and has found that among elon musk is a point of vulnerability for donald trump. first of all, we've seen his approval numbers decline just in the course of the last month. but this new data is suggesting that the general public is twice as likely to be concerned that elon musk is going to go too far, then, that he's not going to go far enough. so he is a point of vulnerability for donald trump. the speculation that the relationship might bust up fast, i don't think that's going to happen as quickly as some people had thought, partly because elon musk has an enormous amount of money, and all the indications are that donald trump look at just yesterday likes what he's doing. but if democrats are looking for somewhere and the other thing that this data is showing is that the thing that people are concerned about are exactly what you just said, john, these

conflicts of interest, where is elon musk actually making changes that may benefit him? and if you start to see people who are growing increasingly anxious, for example, as ali has reported often about cuts in medicaid coming, how is that going to look if elon musk is there making changes to the us government that might potentially benefit starlink and spacex, at the same time that americans are worried that some of these cuts that are passed in congress might hurt their medicaid. this is why democrats are wondering, look, is there something brewing that suggests overreach in the white house that may give them an opportunity to be more of a resistance or an opposition than they have been then? >> i also think, too, there was this really fascinating moment where you, of course, see musk in the cabinet meeting, and then on capitol hill, you had trump's chief of staff, siouxsie wiles, going up there and trying to talk to senators about concerns that they have about doge and basically telling them, if you're not getting your concerns heard, contact my office. and so you're watching musk with firm hold and firm alliance with

trump. and then his chief of staff is having to go placate members of his own party who have been trying to be quiet about the concerns that they have, but saying, hey, we need something. and she's offering her office as a place for that. >> still ahead on morning joe, amazon, ceo and owner of the washington post, jeff bezos is making a major change to the newspaper's opinion section. we'll dig into the controversy surrounding that announcement with the former executive editor of the post, marty baron, when morning joe comes right back. >> after the. short. >> pushing down. >> on me, pressing down on you. no man ask for under pressure. brings a building down. wow. >> incredible, amazing. >> my go to is lumify eye. >> drops lumify dramatically. reduces redness. >> in. >> one minute. and look at the difference. my eyes look brighter and whiter for up shopify's point of sale system helps you sell at

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>> there are no third worlds. there is. >> no west. there is only. one holistic system of systems, one vast and main interwoven interacting, multivariate, multinational dominion of dollars, petrol dollars, electro dollars, multi dollars, reichsmarks, rins. >> rubles. >> pounds and shekels. it is the international system of currency which determines the totality of life on this planet. that is the natural order of things. today i tell you, when i heard the news yesterday coming out of the washington. >> post. >> i immediately thought of ned beatty's iconic performance in the 1976 film network, which actually started as a parody, and now, of course, has become prophetic. he he portrayed though ned beatty. arthur

jensen, the chairman of an overleveraged conglomerate that owns a television network. and that scene feels especially relevant today given the next story. the billionaire owner of the washington post, jeff bezos, announcing yesterday a major shift to the newspaper's opinion section, saying it's now going to focus on what he calls two pillars personal liberties and free markets. and pointedly said the paper will not publish any opposing viewpoints on those topics. the decision to reduce the scope and views of the opinion pages is a major departure from the paper's longtime approach to commentary. in response to the newspaper's opinion, editor david shipley resigned from the position he has held since 2022, declining to stay at the helm under the paper's new editorial direction. let's bring in right now the former executive editor of the washington post, marty baron. marty started in that position in early 2013, months before bezos purchased the post, and he served through 2021. marty, i

mean, most of us when we saw this, we just said, what the hell it is. it's like something that we've never heard. i mean, it's obviously opinion pages can go their own direction, but to say we don't publish opposing viewpoints seems shocking at best. what was your reaction? action. >> well, i was shocked as well. you know, bezos said that he's in favor of personal liberties. well, of course, so am i. and that's why i'm in favor of free expression. you know, it's right there in the first amendment. and news organizations have always honored free expression by having a variety of points of view. >> on their opinion pages. >> but bezos now is just shutting that down. and he's saying that only his point of view is going to be represented on those pages. and that really is a betrayal of the heritage of the of the washington post. and i think a betrayal of the very idea of free expression. and it actually, in contrast to how newspapers, news organizations

honored free expression with a variety of points of view, it actually dishonors free expression, you know, which is the most fundamental personal liberty of american citizens. >> so, marty, as you heard that new edict from jeff bezos to focus only on personal liberty and free markets, what did you take that to mean? in other words, if you're an op ed columnist at the washington post sitting down in front of your laptop this morning, what are you expected to write about? >> well, that's a good question. i think it sends a very disturbing message to the very good columnists at the at the washington post that if they are not in line with his particular point of view, if they don't share his view on all of these issues, that they can go take a hike. and. >> you know. >> maybe some of them will take a hike because the signal is that they're not welcome there. marty, you've had quite an accomplished career. miami herald, boston globe, washington post you know, more than most people know that the editorial page in the op ed page,

basically, but the editorial page specifically belongs to the publisher. if the publisher wants his views on the editorial, on the op ed page editorial page, he will get it. but what does it do in your sense here for the post, the staff at the post? what does such behavior do that bezos exhibited yesterday due to the morale of the reportorial staff? well, i think the mountain, the morale is definitely gone to the tank. it's true that the editorials belong to the publisher, to the owner. they can use the editorials, but to say that the entire opinion page belongs to the owner as well, when historically those opinion pages have been available for a variety of. points of view. you know, bezos himself has said over time that those pages should have a variety of views, and i totally agree with them. that's the nature of democracy, is that we have vigorous, vigorous debate over policies. but this is really an anti-democratic move. it says that, no, the only the only

opinion that is permitted here is my opinion. and you have to share that. and there's no room for you on my pages on, on our site if you have an opposing point of view. that is anti-democratic in nature. >> coming up, our next guest has new reporting on what happens when the doge guys take over. the atlantic's ashley parker goes inside the federal agencies, where fear and uncertainty reigns supreme. that conversation is straight ahead conversation is straight ahead on morning joe. it all started with a small business idea. it's a pillow with a speaker in it! that's right craig. pulling in the perfect team to get the job done. i'm just here for the internets. at&t, it's super-fast! you locked us out?! and when thrown a curveball... arrggghh! ahhhh! [crashing sounds] we had everything we needed. is the internet out? don't worry, we have at&t internet back-up. the next level network for small business.

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>> reporting from. >> philadelphia to el. >> paso in. >> the palisades, virginia. >> from msnbc. >> world. >> headquarters here in new york. >> all of this can be overwhelming, but it is important to remember there are still checks and balances. there's a lot being thrown at the american people right now, and it is really important to pay attention to it, but it is just as important to recognize how many of those things are getting announced. but they're not happening at all, or at least not yet. just try to remember we are not looking at the final score. we are still in the first quarter. keep your pads on. the game has just begun. >> today we. >> begin making montana a playground for the elite. >> we're here. >> i'll destroy everything they fought through. >> i'm trying. >> to. >> prevent a. >> war here. it ain't preventable. >> he wants to. >> take this place from us. >> you're 30.

>> miles from anything. >> where are you headed? >> montana family needs me. >> this is a hard winter. >> i pray spencer can. >> get here. >> time to build that army you promised me. spencer dalton. >> scares me. killed him. and he killed. >> the whole. >> lot of them. >> a lot of things i've had to do for this ranch. >> this takes. >> the cake. >> that was a look at season two of the hit show. 1923. the series, set in taylor sheridan's yellowstone universe, stars harrison ford and helen mirren and follows the ancestors of the modern day dutton family on their montana ranch. in season two, the dutton family must ward off an out of town businessman looking to make a profit on their homeland by any means necessary. joining us now, one of the costars of 1923, julia

schlaepfer, and she plays alexandra, who is married to spencer dutton. the pair are separated at the end of season one, leaving alex on her own to make a harrowing transatlantic journey to the family ranch in bozeman. and joe, i'm going to i'm going to ask, okay, because this is this is where we got. yeah. >> we got to know julia. >> julia. >> we got to know. we asked. >> you. >> last year. >> julia. >> julia. i know we're going. >> to ask you again when. i can. >> the hell. >> julia. >> yeah. >> when i get there. >> are spencer and alexandra are going to get there. when are. >> you going. >> to get to montana? >> i promise. >> you, she's trying. >> she's trying so hard. she will do everything. >> she can to get there. >> that is for sure. she's going to fight her way. >> no! god.

>> okay, you know what? what? yeah, yeah, one foot at a time. i mean, it is a it is a slow, painful journey. my god. >> it's exhausting. it's exhausting. yeah, it was. >> very exhausting. >> yeah. >> yeah, it's. >> just like, i. >> i want my favorite crew members to get out of the building and severance. and i want you to get to montana. i don't know if this is going to happen or not, but. but i wanted to ask you, though. this was 19, 23 was the gateway drug to mika and me watching tv, getting into the. >> tyler. >> tyler, sheridan universe. right. yeah. and so we saw 1923, and we've seen so much since then. tyler sheridan universe. but we get back to 1923 and just blown away. it seemed it's just set apart. and so much of it has to do with the extraordinary actors and acting. talk about that. and what a joy it is to work on this show with the people you work with.

>> yeah. >> it's been so incredible. i feel so lucky. you know, we have. >> harrison ford and helen mirren. >> and they're. >> just the most. >> special people there are. i mean, you, they say don't meet your heroes, but these ones you should. >> definitely meet. they're just. >> they led our cast. >> and crew. >> you know, with. >> such. >> grace and humor. and they just. >> wanted to. >> hang out, and. >> they loved to be one of us. >> so it was really, really cool. >> yeah. and you know, mika, it is, it is, it is remarkable. again, you know, if you look at all the things that taylor sheridan has done, i mean, we just got through line, man. i mean, you wonder how he does as much as he does. and then you look at 1923 and again, it's just it's just the highest quality of writing, working, acting, directing, producing. taylor sheridan i mean, it's just a stand alone talent. >> that and harrison ford and

helen mirren. i mean, the cast seems really there seems i don't know what it's like off camera. maybe it's a nightmare, but it really seems tight. tell us what it's like working with these folks. >> it is. >> such a. >> tight knit. >> yeah. it's a we're so tight knit. you know, taylor brought us all out for. >> cowboy camp in montana. it was like summer camp for adults. we learned how to ride horses. and. >> you know. >> then brandon. >> and i traveled. >> the world together. we went to africa. we. so, you know. >> it's impossible not to. get incredibly close. >> with your. >> costars when you're traveling the world like that together. >> but, yeah, it's just really special. >> and i think taylor wrote us such a beautiful, beautiful. season two. >> and season one. but he is such an incredible. >> writer and we all care so deeply for these characters and. the journey this season. and so we really, i think. >> make it to montana. >> you how much do. >> you care about these characters? >> i care, so. >> make it to bozeman. >> i'm right with the fans. i

want her to get there too. i'm over it. i'm ready for it to get. >> let's take a look at a clip from season two where your character, alex, explains to a friend why she is in such a rush to get to america. >> i'm running out of time. >> you're pregnant? no. oh. >> when i begin. >> to. >> share what then? >> you. >> what will i do to my family then? he's already banned them from london. i belong with my husband. his child belongs with

his father. >> you really. >> do face such a grilling whenever you come on this show. let's talk about. oh, no. you're good here. so talk to us about that scene. but also just your with no spoilers, your character's journey this season. >> yeah. i mean when she, she finds out she's pregnant in the first episode, which is very exciting. and i think it just. >> it raises. >> the stakes of. >> her entire journey. >> it's not just about her anymore. it's not just about finding spencer. she has a family now that she's beginning to take care of. and so she's not just fighting for. >> herself when. >> she is fighting, which she does fight along the way. she's she's fighting for her baby and for, you know, the dutton family and. their lineage and you know what's to come for them. >> well, we love watching the second season of taylor sheridan's 1923 is streaming now on paramount+, with new episodes every sunday. actress julia schlaepfer, thank you. it's always great to have you on, so

you have to come back. >> okay. >> i will okay. thank you for having. >> okay, okay. >> all right. up next, we'll bring you the latest from the trump administration following the first cabinet meeting of the president's second term. plus, the supreme court is allowing one of president trump's most controversial executive orders to stay in place for now. we'll tell you which one. also ahead, we'll dig into a new piece in the atlantic that goes inside the federal agencies where elon musk's people have seized control. and it's been nearly 11 years since malaysia airlines flight 370 went missing. but a new search effort is underway, hoping to provide answers as to what happened to it. why this time may be different. a jampacked fourth hour of morning jampacked fourth hour of morning joe is sometimes my moderate to severe plaque psoriasis gets in my way. ♪♪ but thanks to skyrizi, i'm free to bare my skin. ♪ things are getting clearer, i feel free ♪ ♪ to bare my skin, yeah that's all me ♪

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be putting a price on that card of about $5 million. and that's going to give you green card

privileges. plus. >> green card privileges plus. so trump's going to. delta comfort our immigration system. >> it's great. >> there's green. card green card. >> plus and. green card platinu. world traveler. >> folks feel like immigrant stories are going to be a lot less inspiring in the future. my grandfather came to this country with nothing. >> but. >> $5 million and the clothes in his custom louis vuitton five piece trunk set. >> what a good idea. i've always said our immigration. >> system should run more. >> like the. >> customer rewards. >> program at a casino. >> in atlantic city. >> and. >> welcome to the fourth hour of morning joe. it's 6 a.m. on the west coast. 9 a.m. in the east. good to have you with us. the supreme court is allowing the trump administration to keep funding for foreign aid frozen for now. this has elon musk played a prominent role at president trump's first cabinet meeting of his second term. nbc

news chief white house correspondent peter alexander has the latest. >> overnight, the supreme court wading into president trump's battle over government spending ahead of a midnight deadline. chief justice john roberts blocking a judge's order that the administration. >> released $2. >> billion in frozen foreign aid funds. >> aid groups. >> sued the. administration after president trump froze the money in january. >> the administration had. >> said it needed more time to review the payments. roberts not resolving. >> the. >> underlying issues, but asking both sides to respond by friday. meanwhile. elon musk, the headliner at president trump's first cabinet meeting. musk, touting his department of. government efficiency. sweeping efforts to slash the federal workforce with the biggest round of layoffs yet to come. >> if we don't do this, america will go bankrupt. >> in a memo obtained by nbc news, the white house budget director ordering agency heads to submit plans for large scale reductions in force in two weeks. it follows musk's

directive that all federal workers email a list of five things they accomplished in the last week, or face termination. the move catching several agency heads off guard. some instructing their employees not to respond. >> i think that email perhaps was misinterpreted as a performance review, but actually it was a pulse check review. >> the president interjecting after musk was asked if members of the cabinet were unhappy with him. >> i just. >> want to let the cabinet speak just for a second. >> yeah. >> are either very unhappy with it. if you are, well, throw them. >> out of here. >> the president warning federal workers who have not yet replied to musk's email could still be fired. >> and it's possible that a lot of those people will be actually fired. and if that happened, that's okay. >> for now, many federal workers like jonathan curry, who was just fired from what he calls his dream job at the irs, are worried about what comes next. >> i have a. >> wife. >> three kids and a. >> fourth. >> on the way. we're in. we're a

single income family. >> so for our income to go from what it was to. nothing abruptly with no severance, it's. it can be frightening. >> well, nbc's peter alexander with that report. let's bring in the host of morning edition and up first on npr. steve inskeep, his latest book, entitled differ we must how lincoln succeeded in a divided america, is out now in paperback. also with us, former senior spokesperson and adviser for the harris campaign, adrienne elrod, and staff writer at the atlantic, ashley parker. she's also an msnbc political analyst. her latest reporting is entitled this is what happens when the dodge guys take over. and joe, i, i guess it is. >> well, ashley's piece on that is, is a remarkable read. ashley, i hope you don't mind. i'd love to start with you. same place we started with marty baron earlier. you. you're a three time pulitzer prize

winner. you worked at the washington post for eight years. i'm curious your thoughts yesterday when that missive from jeff bezos, which just sounded unlike anything i've ever heard before, saying we will not broker dissent on our opinion pages. i'm curious. i know that's a leading question, but i'm curious your thoughts. >> well, first, there's something. >> very ironic. >> about casting. >> yourself as this defender of. >> freedom when. >> you are. >> also writing that you care about freedom so much that, as you put it, joe, you won't broker any dissent. i think it's worth saying again, as someone who worked for the post for almost a decade, loved my time there, still loves the post. that there's great. reporters and great editors there, still producing great journalism every day in the. face of what has been for a while now, pretty rudderless leadership from the top and absolutely no evidence.

>> of a business plan. >> so my first feeling is that the washington post, those reporters and. >> editors who compete with, i would say when i was there, we beat the times and the journal. now, i would say they compete with the atlantic as well. are still doing great, great news with the odds stacked against them from top leadership. >> well, and that you know, that's what's so important to note. and i think marty noted this earlier this morning, steve, that that despite what jim vandehei is just called rudderless leadership along with ashley and i mean, jim vandehei saying, i have no idea what they have been doing for the past several years. i'm just completely baffled. but despite that, what we should say that the reporters at the washington post are still the reporters, still doing great work in spite of all the obstacles that have been laid before them. i'm curious, though, your thought

about the washington post, such a such a washington institution. so many extraordinary stories that they've broken so many, so many great journalistic careers. they've launched. what what was your thought yesterday when you saw this missive from bezos? >> i want to continue to believe in. >> the washington post. >> i am a consumer. i am a reader. i appreciate hearing. >> ashley point. >> out how much great reporting there still is in. the washington post. there was a great. story on the top of the app yesterday about elon musk and. >> the. >> billions of dollars. >> he's received. >> in government contracts over the year, and that's a story by the washington post. but something unusual is happening now and perhaps unintended, i don't know. jeff bezos is saying not only that, i'm changing the opinion. >> section. >> but the opinion section. >> is me. >> it's my point of view. it's my view. >> of the world. >> it's personal freedom, it's free markets. and that means that it's going to be hard for bezos to step away. if someone

tries to influence what is on that page, if someone tries to pressure him through his businesses. in the past, when marty baron was the editor, bezos could say, listen, i'm leaving it to them. i'm hands off. he did still face some pressure. >> and some trouble. >> from the trump administration, but he could say, there's really nothing i can do for you because i'm. leaving it to the people at the paper to decide what's in the paper. he can't say that anymore. he owns the opinion page. and when he talks about personal freedom and free markets, that might raise some questions. if you are honestly covering this administration, suppose there's a president who puts a bunch of tariffs on a bunch of countries. if you are in favor of free markets, what is. your opinion section going to say about that? suppose there's an administration that is going against left wing ideology, but at the same time they're breaking up the checks and balances that are a guardian of our liberties. what do you say if you're in favor of personal liberty in that case,

and bezos has effectively made himself accountable for whatever the post is going to say on those issues. >> and you're right, though, to highlight, we all have the good reporting that's still being done at the post. the story i mentioned at the very top of the show about the reporting, how the faa is going to cancel a contract with verizon in order for elon musk's starlink. that is, again, the washington post. ashley, speaking of elon musk, let's read from your new piece that you wrote for the atlantic. you wrote this quote over the first month of trump's new term. patterns have nonetheless emerged as a small crew of musk's young technologists worked their way through the federal workforce. this new unit has trained its initial attention on the key punchers who make the government work, executing musk's belief that by controlling the computers, one could control the entire federal bureaucracy. instead of taking command of the existing workforce, trump's new team has pressured them to disperse, firing those who were probationary, offering buyouts

to others and subjecting many others to 15 minute interviews in what many felt were juvenile tests of their worth. the full impact of the blitz will not be known for months, when the courts in congress decide where to push back, if at all, but the scale and speed of the transformation now taking place across the executive branch are likely to leave a deep mark. and as we saw in the cabinet meeting yesterday, trump elevated musk to speak. the only person who did, mind you, not a cabinet member, and made clear that more cuts are coming. talk to us more about this terrific reporting from you and your colleagues about just what exactly these doge teams are doing and how they're doing it. >> sure. so these doge teams come in. they're often young men who have worked with musk before his various tech companies, but not always. and as you just read musk's view, and i cannot tell you the number of people in the white house and in the administration who have said to me, you know, at first when he

said that if you control the computers, you control everything. it felt a little counterintuitive. but i now understand what he means, which is the view that the computers are the ones that push out the payments, that push out money to grants and loans, that decide, you know, who is getting their medicare or medicaid payment. and so musk is coming in and trying to take over these systems. and we reported it's interesting. musk did that quote unquote, pulse check. but our story ran a bit before. and it these individual agencies, there were signs of something like that to come. there were interviews where one doge employee, we had a recording would ask people, federal employees with a ton of experience, sort of cavalierly it came off to them. so what's your superpower? and they were also asked to give lists of quote unquote wins they had had and blockers, which feels a bit like the precursor to this email

of five bullet points explaining what you're doing. and i watched that cabinet meeting yesterday. and one thing that was interesting to me was musk said, look, it wasn't a performance review. it was a pulse check to see if you have a pulse in two neurons. but but what what was sort of missed? there is this sense that there's plenty of people in the federal bureaucracy who have a pulse in more than two neurons, who are being told by someone who is viewed as president. musk, on the one hand, to send this email with five bullet points, and then they are being told by their cabinet secretary or manager, absolutely not to send this email with bullet points. so that's confusing to even the most brilliant of people who are trying to figure out what to do, in which in many ways, as we documented, would be a comedy of errors, but for the fact that people's lives are at stake and their jobs are at stake. >> adrienne. then. steve. adrienne. for democrats, i mean, there's so much here to work with. it seems to me to stay

focused on the direct impact, the of the chaos, the confusion, obviously, the pain that we saw the young man from the irs who's just lost his job and to try to give voice to that. i know that some democratic strategists, carville said, lay back play possum, but i think there is a lot to work with here, carefully and calmly. but i wouldn't step away from saying, look, this is what happens when you cut like this, right? >> look, a couple of. >> things on that. >> i think, number one, when. >> trump initially. >> went after us, usaid, yeah, a lot of americans. >> were like. >> what is usaid? like, we don't really understand what this agency does. >> is this our. >> taxpayer dollars. >> going to support, you know, people. >> around the world. >> and not domestically. >> here at home, which of. >> course. >> we. >> know is not true. they do. usaid does a lot of work. >> here at home. >> but now that he's getting into some of these other agencies and he's really tackling, you know, people who are managing medicaid, social

security, distribution, you know, people who are entrenched. >> in. >> their communities. there's a misnomer out there in america that a lot of these. federal jobs are based in washington, d.c. that is not true. i think the irs. >> center has a. >> big location in columbus, ohio, that employs 700 people. i mean, these are people who are being impacted across, across across the united states in their communities, who provide very vital services. so i think it's incumbent on democrats to not only push back on. >> this. >> but also make it very clear that these are people who are providing. very important services that you will feel the impact of these services are not in existence in your everyday life. you simply need human beings to implement some of these really important government programs that can't be done with ai. it can't be done, you know, without people there to do these jobs. >> i want. >> to acknowledge a couple of realities from the administration's point of view. people get fired in america, in the private sector, people get laid off. i was talking with the ceo a few days ago who was saying after the ellen email,

the five bullet points email i to email with lower level employees in my companies. i to go around the managers. i want to know what's going on. so i want to acknowledge that you can do those things. but there's something else that's underlined in ashley's reporting, which is the level of disrespect of people or disdain to people, the way in which they're communicated. and that does seem to be something that's relatable that people also don't like when they're disrespected in the private sector. and you're beginning to hear at least a few republicans in congress. note this and say, i want federal employees at least to be treated with respect, which is something that the administration seems to be less interested in at this point. >> steve, let's. >> connect it to the paperback. >> edition of your book. certainly, we are deeply divided right now. the parallels do run up against some limitations. we're not at war. certainly donald trump is not abraham lincoln, but what are some lessons that we could be applying from then to now? >> well. >> one thing that's on my mind is a speech that lincoln gave on this day 165 years ago. i'm here in new york because lincoln

spoke 165 years ago at cooper union. it was the beginning of his presidential campaign, and he was talking about slavery. but when i read that speech, what is striking to me is he doesn't get emotional. he uses logic. he uses reason to talk about the founding fathers and the kind of country that they wanted. and he trusted people. he trusted the public to follow his logic rather than doing a bunch of insults or whatever else he might have done. i think that sets an example for now. >> npr. steve inskeep. thank you so much for coming on the show this morning. we really appreciate it. his latest book differ we must how lincoln succeeded in a divided america is out now in paperback and staff writer at the atlantic. ashley parker, thank you for your reporting as well. it's online now. two time academy award winning actor gene hackman has died. police say hackman was found dead inside his santa fe, new mexico, home along with his wife of three decades and their

dog. nbc news correspondent stephanie gosk has the latest. >> this morning, authorities. >> investigating the death. >> of a hollywood legend. gene hackman found dead wednesday alongside his. >> wife. >> classical pianist betsy arakawa, in their. >> home in santa fe. >> police say the couple, who married in 1991, were found with their dog after a neighbor called police to do a welfare check. authorities say there is no immediate indication of foul play in the deaths, but they did not provide a. >> cause of. >> death or say, when the couple might have died. the two time oscar winner, always showing great intellect and intensity on the screen. hackman had the uncanny ability to vanish into any role. >> the problem is. >> from tough as nails good. >> cop popeye. >> doyle in the french connection. >> which earned him. >> his first oscar. >> get him. >> two lex luthor opposite christopher. >> reeve in superman. >> mind over muscle. >> and after that, a remarkable run of iconic roles in dozens of

films, winning over audiences with movies like hoosiers and. crimson tide. >> mr. hunter, i made the decision. i'm captain of this boat. >> you're relieved of your position. >> and critics with a second oscar win with unforgiven. >> he's got one. >> barrel left. >> he kept. >> working even after. >> heart surgery in. >> 1990, turning to mostly. >> comedic roles. >> it was against the. >> law until his. >> retirement in the early 2000. hackman and his wife moving. >> to santa fe. >> he continued. >> to work as a novelist, publishing his fifth book in 2013, though the two were occasionally spotted together. hackman largely. >> preferred to stay out of the public. >> eye in recent years, while audiences remember him through a remarkable on screen career. now, police investigating the screen legend's death. >> we'll be following that. nbc's stephanie gosk with that report coming up, president trump is threatening to impose 25% tariffs, this time on europe. cnbc's andrew ross sorkin joins us with those details. and up next, democratic

kentucky governor andy beshear joins us. he'll react to the republican plan in washington to make massive cuts to medicaid. you're watching morning joe. we'll be right back. >> we will. see you. >> and, doug. >> you'll be back. emus can help. people customize and save hundreds on. >> car insurance with. >> liberty mutual. >> you're just a. >> flightless bird. >> you know. >> and doug. >> well. i'll be. >> that bird. >> really did it. >> only pay. >> for what you need. >> liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty. >> the ship's drifting. >> out of control. >> get out of there now! >> a snag, diver. >> two is on bailout. >> can't breathe. >> we will come back. >> for you. just make sure the >> for you. just make sure the buoy diver.

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ooooooo. -i love that. add streamsaver with apple tv+, netflix and peacock included for only $15 a month... and stream all your favorite entertainment, all in one place. too. >> i can. >> feel. >> the winds of change. >> welcome back. time now for a look at some of the other stories making headlines this morning. 80% of flights at germany's munich airport have been canceled amid a two day strike. workers also walked off the job in hamburg. the union behind the strike is seeking to step up pressure on the federal government as it negotiates wages and working conditions. the strike is set to end tomorrow night at midnight. intuitive machines moon lander was successfully launched yesterday atop a spacex rocket from the kennedy space center in florida. the mission, part of a joint effort with nasa, is scheduled to touch down near the moon's lunar south pole on march

6th. the lander intends to drill in search of water, which could aid in the effort to eventually set up a permanent base on the moon. and a social media campaign is calling on americans to abstain from shopping with major retailers tomorrow as part of an economic blackout. the protest is an initiative by the people's union usa, which describes itself as a grassroots movement dedicated to economic resistance, government accountability and corporate reform. the group says it has no political affiliation, but is rather focused on uniting americans against corporate greed. it calls on consumers to avoid all unnecessary purchases, either in person or online. jonathan. >> that is scheduled for tomorrow. so the threat of cuts to medicaid to fund president trump's priorities loom large in communities around the country. that includes kentucky, where the state depends on medicaid to

keep citizens covered and rural hospitals open. the state is already feeling the effects of the federal funding freeze, and kentucky's governor, andy beshear, says a cut to medicaid would be devastating. and the governor joins us now. mr. governor, thank you again for being with us this morning. let's talk about these potential cuts. republicans have been denying that medicaid is involved. but if you do the math, there's no way to do it without medicaid being front and center. so talk to us about what that would mean for the citizens of your state, republicans and democrats alike. >> well, thank cuts would be devastating, and they'd be devastating to the people we all love the most. the people we love the most in this world are our parents and our kids. 50% of kentucky's kids get coverage through medicaid. 70% of our long term care costs for our seniors go through medicaid. so what cuts would do would be to harm families that have children with complicated medical issues,

harm the care that our seniors get in those important twilight years. and it would devastate rural health care. i mean, we thankfully have a strong group of rural hospitals throughout our state. and i can tell you, governing during the pandemic, they are the reason that so many people survive. but large cuts to medicaid would close virtually all of them. and that would mean most of my people would have to drive two plus hours just to see probably the same doctor who lost their job at a rural hospital and is now at an urban hospital. we should want our people to get healthier. we shouldn't gamble with the number of years that our people live. and cuts to medicaid will will harm all of america. >> well, and that's what i don't understand, governor. these cuts to medicaid will harm rural america, red state, america more than than urban america. if you look, you just talked about 50%

of children in rural america get their health care from medicaid. a high that's a higher percentage than children in in metro areas. you can say the same thing for the general population under 65. it's the same thing. so i'm just curious, why is it that you have representatives from your own state and other states that seem to be voting against the best interest of their voters in those states? because, like you said, the tragedy is they can't you know, they're not in new york or la. they they can't travel a short distance to go to a doctor. sometimes when you shut down these hospitals in kentucky or upstate new york or in wisconsin or michigan or central pennsylvania, you're making people go two hours just to get primary care. >> yeah. >> when you look at our federal delegation and so many others, it seems like people care more about being a good member of the

national republican party than a good representative or senator from the commonwealth of kentucky, or anywhere else. that's when i took this job. i didn't take an oath to be the best democratic governor i could be. i took an oath to be the best governor for my people that i could be. and this policy is going to harm so many. when i think about the things that matter most to the american people, it's going to impact all of them. they care about their job and whether they make enough to support their family. if they've got to go two hours and take off two days of their job just for a regular appointment, it's going to hurt. they care about that next doctor's appointment for themselves, their parents or their kids. it's not just getting themselves to an appointment, but the pediatric appointments, the seniors. they care about safety in their community. well, if your ambulance drive to a level one trauma center is an hour plus, then then not as many people are going to make it. this this hits americans where we want security the most. and

it's mean and it's cruel. i mean, not having a doctor in a community is demeaning to that community. and it's the federal government saying we don't care. so my hope is that congress will start doing its job, realize that it is a separate branch of government, and put the people first. because let me tell you, severe cuts in medicaid are going to make people speak out. >> adrienne. >> governor, great to see you this morning. question on this. you are a blue state. you are you are a democratic governor representing a red state. tell me how you think democrats can, you know, really draw this contrast here. i mean, there's obviously a lot of people in your state who voted for donald trump. they're probably not even thinking about the politics when medicaid is cut. but how can democrats actually help. >> draw this contrast? >> both, you know, democrats in your state and nationally to really, you know, i want to say we're trying to score political points here, but i think it is important that we actually draw a contrast as democrats and make it very clear where we stand and

the fact that we want to keep these programs intact. when you see somebody like donald trump and the maga republicans who are willing to do anything to basically save a buck here and there in government. >> well, what democrats have to do is to stay focused. you know, i think donald trump is currently president because the last group of movable voters were convinced that that his opponent was distracted by culture war issues and he would do more to lower prices. well, guess what? this president is obsessed with culture war issues, and he is gambling prices in the american economy, in potential trade wars for non-economic means. so if democrats will stay focused on those things that matter most to the american people, and that's your job, and whether you make enough to support your family, that next doctor's appointment and how far you have to drive to get there, whether you feel safe in your community, the school that you're going to drop your kids off at, and the roads and bridges you travel every day,

that common ground, common sense for the american people, for working people is right there. now, i talked to people, and right now what they're saying is they feel like the pendulum was swinging too far to the left, and now it's swung really far to the right. and what they want to see is it to stop swinging for us to be focused on areas that can improve everybody's life? and that is right there for the democrats to take to seize that ground. and the great part of it is it's not partizan. it's just something where we can help everybody and re-earn the faith and the trust of so many americans. >> kentucky's democratic governor, andy beshear, thank you very much for being on the show this morning. we really appreciate it. >> thank you. >> all right. the demand for artificial intelligence continues to drive profits for american tech companies. yesterday, nvidia reported its revenue grew 78% compared to last year. that's a lot. and the tech giant also expects a significant increase in the sales of its next generation ai

processors in the coming year. doing pretty well. joe. >> i mean, just unbelievable. let's bring around the co-host of cnbc's squawk box and new york times columnist andrew ross sorkin. andrew, you know, nvidia just over the past year. i mean, it's got it's got market capitalization of over $3 trillion. it is one of the three biggest companies in the world as far as market capitalization, along with microsoft and apple. and if you look at their earnings yesterday, those that are suggesting, i think there are some that have shorted it that are suggesting that that growth is going to slow down, maybe putting their money in the wrong place. well you're right. thus far. everybody is spending an enormous amount on ai infrastructure, as in the chips. data centers and the like. and it doesn't seem to be stopping anytime soon. there was this sort of moment when we learned about deep sea from china, where

there were new questions about whether you'd actually need all of these new chips and need all these data centers. i still think that question is open for the longer term. in the short term. the money is continuing to be spent. the bigger question that hangs over a company like an nvidia nvidia is making money because people are actually paying them to bring them the chips. all of the companies that are paying them to make these chips are not making money on ai. so open ai is losing, you know, billions of dollars doing this. google is losing billions of dollars doing this. mike i mean, you can go down the list. at some point, there's an economic question about all of these big software companies and whether the economics of ai, from a as you think about things scaling, are going to become profitable if they become profitable long term. nvidia is going to be a massive, massive success. and of course it already is. >> if you believe. >> that at some point there is going to be a shakeout. and by the way, we had this, you know,

in 1999, 2000, 2001, there was an enormous amount of fiber. >> that was. >> put into the ground all over the all over the country. and these companies were worth a fortune. and then what happened? they all, you know, so many of them went bankrupt because there was almost an overinvestment in in a field where people were losing money the whole time and people were saying, oh, this looks like it makes sense until it doesn't. so i just caution you not because i think in the short term, again, they're going to still get lots of sales people going to be buying these chips. it's sort of hard to see how it ends. but if you have all if all the buyers are not making money doing it. there's a. >> bigger question. >> so andrew let's talk tariffs. president trump has said that's his favorite word. i know i know for you it's in the top 10 or 15. he has said just now on truth social that tariffs against canada or mexico will go into effect next week tuesday, in fact. and that april 2nd, there will be a round of reciprocal tariffs as well. talk to us about what this means. our two closest and most active trading partners. there might be tariffs for europe too. >> i think there's. >> a. >> big question as to what's

going to happen in the next week and a half. meaning is there another possibility that this is i don't want to say a negotiating ploy, but this whole thing has been a negotiation. >> he's already pushed it. >> once it does, he push it again? does he push it again? are we living, frankly, over a period of three and a half or four years of just negotiations? >> because this is this. >> is one of the most powerful tools he has. >> to. >> control effectively other countries. right? that's what it is. having said that, the uncertainty itself about whether tariffs go into effect or not is. deleterious for the economy. i mean, we've talked about it before. so many of these companies are basically standing still saying we can't make any investments because we don't know what the tariffs are going to be. so there's an argument to be made from a business perspective that you would just want to know one way or the other, if next week is the day, make that the day. tell us what it is and we'll try to go from there. that might actually be a better path than extending over and over again. i don't know what's going to happen. i'm not

totally convinced that they will go into place next week. i would imagine that there's going to be a lot of moving around over the next couple of days. well, andrew, talk about the concern on wall street. i mean, you have consumer confidence down. you have inflation still up. you have great fear from companies about these tariffs that are going into effect, as we've been saying now for 2 or 3 months. our economy, the numbers look, look strong from a distance. but but we remain on a razor's edge. i mean, the economy still may be going too hot. we we've got a lot of different concerns right now. talk about wall street's unease with all of this talk of like 25% tariffs. oh, i. >> think wall street. >> at this point. and i think that's what you saw even just some of the downdraft on the market in recent days has been a function of this uncertainty, almost a. a new understanding that we are a certainty about

uncertainty, that there is going to be uncertainty for a very long time, and that that unto itself is paralyzing business. we thought that there was going to be massive investments post the trump administration with this idea that sort of a deregulatory landscape, everything was going to everyone was going to do a deal. nobody's doing those deals right now because they are still waiting to see what happens. so that's where the sort. >> of. >> direct impact has been. and then in terms of just weakness, you look at the ten year note, our bonds in america, they have come down. now you could say either that's because, you know, kevin hassett at the white house would tell you who runs runs the economic group there would tell you that's because of doge, that somehow we're going to be cutting a lot of cutting a lot of costs. that might be but it also could be that people are worried that the economy is in a precarious state. >> yeah. cnbc's andrew ross sorkin, thank you very much. and adrian elrod, thank you as well. always great to have you both on. and still ahead, it's one of the biggest mysteries in aviation history. what happened

to malaysia airlines flight mh370? there's new search underway to find answers nearly 11 years after it disappeared, new york magazine contributor jeff wise joins us to explain why this effort could be different. morning joe is back in a moment. >> and. >> say your prayers. if, like me. >> sadly. windshield chips. >> can turn into. >> windshield cracks. >> but at. least you. can go to safe flight.com and schedule a fix in minutes. sweet safe flight can come to you for free. and our highly trained techs can replace your windshield right at your home. >> they flight safe. flight. >> don't wait. go to save >> don't wait. go to save flight.com and schedule now asthma. does it have you missing out on what you love

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>> don't miss the weekends. >> saturday, and. >> sunday mornings. >> at 8:00. >> on msnbc. >> what was it. >> like when trump. >> got elected? >> what was. >> the i mean. >> what was the reaction. >> do you think. about ice. >> coming to knock. >> on your front door? >> tea 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. the malaysia airlines. >> boeing. >> 777 was traveling from. >> kuala lumpur. >> to beijing. >> when all contact. >> was lost over open water. >> roughly halfway. >> between malaysia. >> and the. >> southern tip of vietnam. >> the plane left kuala lumpur. at 12:40 a.m. saturday. the red eye flight to beijing with 239 passengers and crew on. >> board, among them. >> american phillip. >> wood, an. ibm executive. >> but 1 to.

>> 2 hours into the flight at 35,000ft. air traffic controllers lost contact with the plane somewhere over the gulf of thailand. >> so that was the lead story from nbc nightly news nearly 11 years ago. march 8th, 2014. reporting on the mysterious disappearance of malaysia airlines flight mh370 back in 2015, fragments described as definitely or almost certainly from the plane were found washed ashore on the french territory of reunion island and the east coast of africa. but to date, there have been no real answers as to what happened. earlier this week, a new search kicked off in a remote stretch of the indian ocean looking for any additional clues. and a new piece in new york magazine is highlighting why this latest search could be different, and how much of the story we've been told could turn out to be false. joining us now, the author of that piece, new york magazine contributor jeff wise. he is

also co-host of the podcast finding mh 370. jeff, thank you so much for joining us. it is an enduring mystery and tragedy as to what happened to this plane. give us a sense as to some of the working theories. what have we learned that's changing what we know? >> there's really. >> one dominant. >> theory. >> which is that. >> the pilot. >> took the plane and for reasons that nobody can. really explain. >> took it on a. >> mass murder suicide. >> mission into the remote southern indian ocean. the reason we think. >> that. is that. after the. >> plane disappeared from air traffic control radar, it started sending out these mysterious signals that are. >> really unlike anything any. >> other plane has ever sent. and scientists. >> looked at these signals. >> they figured. >> out how to. >> carry out some fancy mathematics, and that told them. >> that it went. >> to this certain. >> part of the ocean. >> but when. >> searchers looked in. that area. >> they didn't find it. so what. >> does this new search now a decade past? what does this new

search going to be like? how is it different? >> well. >> it's a much smaller area. the previous two searches each. >> carried out. >> about 120,000km!s. >> together. >> an area about the. >> size of great britain. >> so really a huge area. >> what they're doing right. >> now is going back. they've had a decade now to think about it, and they've decided that look, of all the places we've looked, it really could only be in this one place. so we must have missed it somehow. >> so those signals, that unusual signals that were they enough of a sign that the pilots were alive. well, final hours of the flight. >> by deciphering the signals and kind of comparing it to what you would expect. >> an airplane to. >> produce, right. >> looking at the performance data. >> of the boeing and. >> so forth. they've determined. that it must have. >> been actively piloted. >> all the way to the end. really? yeah. so, in fact. >> somebody must. >> have pushed it into a steep dive at the. very end. so which really limits. >> the range of how far. >> it could have gotten after the last transmission. so it

should be in a really tight area. >> so beyond that leading theory of a pilot suicide mission, what are some other thoughts? what are some other ideas that have gained some traction? there's really. >> only one. >> other possibility. we know that somebody took this plane. the leading theory is that someone in the cockpit. took the plane. >> for most airplanes. >> that's. >> the only place you can. >> steer an airplane. >> but the 777 is different. >> it's a new. >> enough model that it was a fly by wire plane that was actually controlled by computers in. >> a part. >> of the plane called the electronics bay, which in a777 is actually unlocked and accessible from the passenger cabin. so it's at. least theoretically conceivable that somebody could have gotten. >> in there. >> and altered this data. that would explain why the plane isn't there. >> the black box. it doesn't. does it have a life span that goes 11 years? if they could ever find it? that probably seems impossible. >> well, the hope. is that they

will do exactly that, that this latest search will find. >> coming up on morning joe, 2024 was a historic year for women in film. we'll dig into a new report that details how actresses made significant gains on screen for the very first time, including several talented oscar nominees. ahead of this sunday's academy awards. morning sunday's academy awards. morning joe will be right back after. some people just know they could save hundreds on car insurance by checking allstate first. like you know to check your outfit first before meeting your girlfriend's family. that's a tough one to recover from steve. so check allstate first yeah. for a quote that could save you hundreds.

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>> kick. which is good because i'm not done. i retired for 15. years and then i came back at 65, which is not usual. and then i made one of my most successful movies in my 80s, and probably in my 90s. i'll be doing my own stunts in an action movie. >> yeah. >> i love it. that was 87 year old actress jane fonda accepting the sag a lifetime achievement award this past sunday and reflecting about the long career runway which we speak so much about at know your value. her acceptance speech comes on the heels of the golden globes, where actress demi moore, at age 62, won her first major acting award in her 40 year career. meanwhile, a new survey from usc annenberg, which we spoke about last week, shows that for the first time, gender equality has been reached. across the 100

most popular films of 2024. joining us now, msnbc contributor huma abedin, vice chair of the forbes know your value 3050 summit, which is just six days away. are we stressed? we're not stressed, maggie stressed, editor of forbes women. maggie mcgrath is here as well. we're going to be there and we're going. it's going to be good a lot, a lot to get to before then, though, and some announcements. but first, huma, these acceptance speeches are like women marking their moment in history and a moment for other women. they become to play a big role in in these hollywood events. is this emblematic or are they emblematic of a larger societal shift? >> you know, i. >> think they're emblematic of where society aspires to be. and i think both of them have pivoted. >> in. >> their careers and gone from, i love how. demi moore. when she said, i. >> didn't know i was worth. >> very much. >> the millions of women. >> sort of nodding, even though she played these sort of gender breaking, barrier breaking.

>> characters for years and. >> jane. >> fonda to basically say, make people uncomfortable. >> in a room. >> and to go from. >> being an actress and. >> an. activist for decades and saying, here. we are, take. >> us seriously, by the way. >> they create great performances. and so it's about community. >> it's about. >> empathy that they talk about. >> and i think it's a real model for other industries. >> and sectors, for women. across the country. >> and jane fonda showing so much strength. i mean, i just i love it, i mean, inspiring, it's incredibly inspiring. but again, in our 50 over 50 list, there are many women like her. like we have arrived. and maggie, speaking of incredible actresses over the age of 51 of our 50 over 50 honorees is that and will be joining us on stage in six days at 3050 summit. tell us who she is. >> yes. and she is speaking of acceptance. speeches gave what might be the best emmy. award acceptance speech of. >> all time. but just to recap. >> we have already. announced speakers like. >> yusra mardini, lynsey. >> addario.

>> alka joshi, marsai martin. >> and today i'm. >> so thrilled to say that sheryl lee ralph will be joining our stage. she'll be in conversation with you mika. folks will know sheryl from her work. >> on the hit show abbott. >> elementary. >> but she. >> was also. >> on our 50 over 50 list in. >> 2022. >> because though she. >> began her career in the 1970s. >> she worked. >> across film. >> tv, broadway. >> she was. >> in the. >> original broadway. cast of dreamgirls. >> in the early 1980s. >> received a tony nomination for that role. it's really been in her 60s that she is receiving a career. renaissance thanks. >> to her. >> work on abbott. >> elementary. that emmy award that. >> she won in. 2022 was her. >> first ever emmy award, and she became just the second black woman ever. >> to receive. >> the. >> best supporting. actress emmy in a comedy. so she. >> set history there. her acceptance speech reminded everyone to go. after their dreams, but she's a really important addition to our stage. >> at 3050. >> because of course, we're all about. >> intergenerational connections. >> and sheryl has been super open. >> about. >> the fact that it. >> took a. >> young. >> person. >> quinta brunson, to recognize the value. >> of her work and to give her

an opportunity. >> and show her. >> the. >> way forward. >> so i know you'll be talking. >> with her all. >> about that. >> this is our fourth year, and we do volunteer work into school. we dance in the desert. we have our awards ceremony at the exactly at the louvre, honoring and really putting a frame around the contributions of women from around the world. cross-cultural, multigenerational mentoring happening 24 seven through this three day event. and huma, you'll be moderating several conversations at the summit. what are you looking forward to the most? >> i am looking forward to all the things that you just mentioned. >> i'm particularly. >> looking forward to speaking. >> to freida pinto. who is an award winning. >> actress who. >> plays these beautifully. >> complicated. >> nuanced characters. >> she broke through when. she played slumdog millionaire. >> as you know, just. >> a young. indian actress. >> but she is so. good at speaking beyond the screen to talk about mental health issues, talk about postpartum.

>> health and the importance of that. >> so that's. one conversation i'm very. >> very much looking. >> forward to. but also. >> i think one of my favorite moments is the town hall that maggie and you and i have done in the past, because it's an opportunity not just to hear. >> from these bestselling authors. and actresses and these. >> successful entrepreneurs. >> but to listen. >> to the audience, to hear their questions and to have these breakthrough moments. like when. >> mika, you. >> said, show me the. >> money. >> ask for a raise, you know, know your value. and these things really land with people and they're very powerful. >> yeah. and you know, i, i knew this is our fourth as i said, i knew i think it was last year, the year before i knew we were on to something because this is such a remarkable event. but i was in an elevator with a 25 year old and it was all crowded. and she's like, i hope this elevator gets there soon because i can't wait to get to networking. and i was like, who? like, we think of networking and we're like, please let me go throw my hit my head against the wall. but no, it's really good

networking and mentoring that leads to real connections, real investments in each other and lifelong relationships. the 3050 summit takes place next week, and you can get all the details about our life changing event@forbes.com and know your value. dot com huma abedin and maggie mcgrath. thank you both very much. i'll see you there. thanks. that does it for us this morning. ana cabrera picks up the coverage after a quick final break. break. >> to speak. i didn't think someone like me was at risk of shingles. the rash couldn't possibly be that painful. and it wouldn't disrupt my life for weeks. i was wrong. i didn't know that 99% of people over 50

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doing what you love. >> each week, veteran lawyers andrew weissman and mary mccord break down the latest developments inside the trump administration's department of justice. >> the administration doesn't necessarily. want to. be questioned on any of its policy. >> main justice. new episodes drop every tuesday. >> we're going to start with. >> breaking news. >> on. >> capitol hill. mounting questions over the future of tiktok in the us. >> president trump has promised to carry out the largest deportation force in american history. >> the surge of international. >> outrage following. >> suggestion that the us take. >> control of gaza. >> the congressional progressive. >> caucus calling for elon musk to be fired from his position. >> reporting from philadelphia. >> el paso. >> in the palisades, virginia. >> from msnbc. >> world headquarters here in new york. >> right now on. anna cabrera reports. >> breaking news from the white house. president trump. >> announcing tariffs. >> on. mexico and canada. >> will go into. >> effect in a matter of days.