reinventing your business at. >> it's president trump's first 100 days, and rachel maddow and alex wagner will be bringing clarity to the policies being implemented. alex will be in the field reporting from the frontlines. >> what issue matters to you the most? >> and rachel will be hosting five nights a week. >> important stories are going to be told through field work and frontline reporting about the consequences of government action. >> alex wagner, reporting from across the country and the rachel. >> maddow show weeknights. >> at nine on msnbc. >> good day. i'm chris jansing, live at msnbc headquarters in new york city. not backing down from a fight. americans and their wallets are now in the crosshairs of a growing trade war. canada and china imposing retaliatory tariffs. mexico

won't be far behind. and the stock market in a freefall. is this just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to higher prices at the pump? the grocery store? the car lot. plus the president's address. can donald trump use his speech to congress tonight to sell his vision, even if it costs americans their money or their jobs? we'll talk to one fired federal worker who will be at the speech tonight. and ukraine's president tries to mend fences with trump calling friday's oval office blowup regrettable, but stopping short of a full blown apology. will it be enough to get u.s. military aid flowing again? but we begin with markets sinking and a trade war escalating fast. canada, china and mexico all announcing retaliatory measures to answer president trump's tariffs, which took effect overnight. they include a 25% tariff on goods coming into the u.s. from mexico and canada, along with an additional 10% tariff on all

goods coming in from china. the move to punish our top u.s. trading partners. it is an extraordinary gamble for a president who campaigned on lowering prices on day one. canadian prime minister justin trudeau is not mincing words. speaking directly to the american people. >> we don't want this. we want to work with you as a friend and ally, and we don't want to see you hurt either. but your government has chosen to do this to you. >> well, in the last couple of minutes, we just got a truth social post responding to that by donald trump. please explain to governor trudeau of canada that when he puts on a retaliatory tariff on the us, our reciprocal tariff will immediately increase by a like amount. so we may not have seen the end of this. and economists are warning these tariffs will likely result in americans seeing higher prices everywhere they turn from the gas pump, the

grocery aisle, to car dealerships, electronics stores. the markets are reacting strongly, to say the least. the dow down. look at this 656 points. the nasdaq and s&p 500 also down today. in fact, data from bloomberg shows that since the day after president trump's election, $3.4 trillion in value has been totally wiped out of the market. joining me now, peter baker, chief white house correspondent for the new york times and an msnbc political analyst. tara setmayer is a former republican communications director. but we begin with nbc's business and data correspondent, brian chung. brian. >> hey there. chris. these tariffs. >> are going to be targeting our. >> neighbors to the. >> north and. south with a very substantial tariff of 25% that took effect at midnight. and in addition to a additional. >> 10% tariff on. >> china, this is going to cover many different types. >> of goods, for example. >> fruits and vegetables. >> that come in. >> from mexico. we also get a

lot of produce from canada. >> as well. >> in. >> the. >> form of potatoes and also grain. but you have to remember that steel and aluminum are part of this as well. this is a really, really big deal when it comes to the. economic relationship between the united states and our neighbors to the north and south, specifically when it comes to the automotive industry. we import so many parts from mexico and then assemble so many cars in canada, which means that in some cases, you have the same vehicle that might be sold in the united states that gets tariff multiple times. that's the reason why you have some groups, like the anderson economic group, that is projecting that in some cases, some vehicles can get as much as $10,000 more expensive as a result of these tariffs. we've already heard some retail companies opine on the tariffs this morning. the likes of target and also best buy chiming in on this best buy saying that quote, our entire assortment will pass along some level of tariff costs to retailers, making price increases for american consumers, quote, highly likely and then target saying in their fourth quarter earnings that if there's a 25% tariff, those prices will go up.

so these are coming to stores near you really kind of underscoring the reaction on the wall street as well, which is reacting negatively to the announcement of these tariffs. but we'll have to see, as we know, the president has promised even higher tariffs on the campaign trail. could this be the beginning of this trade war, which is only just in the early stages? we'll have to see. back to you, chris. >> thanks so much, peter. thanks so much. brian. peter. stock market tanking, threat of even higher prices. i mean, and all of this, obviously, as the president has a pretty big speech tonight with the idea of telling the citizens of america that things are getting better. talk about what you're seeing and the challenge now facing donald trump, which seems to be moving by the minute. >> yeah, there. >> seems to be a conflict here between trump's priorities. >> right. >> he's always talking about tariffs. >> tariffs is. >> a instrument of. >> power that he likes to wield, in part because he can do it. >> himself without. >> needing congress. >> right. he has. the complete.

>> flexibility. >> at least as the law is currently. being interpreted. >> to impose these. >> tariffs on neighbors to influence their policy. but he's saying he's doing this in order to stem the flow of fentanyl, because fentanyl deaths are on the rise. in fact, they're on the decline. they've been actually going down substantially in the last year or so, about 24% down last year compared to the year before. and very little of it actually comes over the border from canada. and yet canada, our largest trading partner, is the one that he is focused on, along with mexico and china. and i think that it's in conflict with his promise to lower prices. he says, well, the foreign governments pay the tariffs. that's obviously just not true. and we'll see whether this continues to have an impact. the stock market is important because it's one thing he pays attention to. it's a metric that matters to him. he likes to brag about stock markets going up so far. if you've been in the markets during the six weeks he's been in office, you've lost money. >> so tara, on this issue of tackling inflation, which we know was a key promise for a lot of folks, there's a comment by

trump's agriculture secretary that is really catching fire. she was asked about how americans should cope with higher egg prices. >> i think. the silver. >> lining in all. >> of this is how. >> do we in our backyards, we've got chickens in our backyard. how do we solve for something like this? and people are sort of looking around thinking, wow, well, maybe i could get a chicken in my backyard. >> you're a communications expert. what is the republican member of congress supposed to do with that? yeah, this. >> is problematic. >> republican members of congress are. >> already feeling the heat from a lot of. >> their constituents. >> because the. >> doge cuts the indiscriminate decapitation of a lot of our. >> federal agencies. >> here is impacting everyone across. >> the board. it's not just the. >> owning the libs that a lot of us thought that they were getting by supporting donald trump, republican lawmakers have to answer for what's happening in their own. >> communities and. >> farmers, agriculture, veterans, all of.

>> these things are. >> being impacted by this. and the price of eggs was. >> the signature catchphrase for the election. >> but the price of eggs? well, according to trump's own usda, egg prices. >> are going to. >> go up, possibly to 40% more for the rest of the year. and that is something that. >> i think could be. >> could have been if what's. >> going on could be. handled better. they would. >> need to explain to the. >> american people, well, why are egg. >> prices at. 40% higher now? you promised us you would bring the cost. of everyday goods down. this tariff. >> war does not do. that either. >> i think. >> the republicans are going to have to explain to the american people why. donald trump's actions so far, in his few weeks that. >> he's been in. >> office. >> how has that. >> improved their lives? >> it hasn't. >> and no matter what they keep saying. >> they're trying to gaslight. >> the american people into believing that everything. >> is better. this is. >> much better. it will be. you're going to have to go through some pain, but it will be better eventually. i don't

think that's what the american people voted for. they didn't hear about that some pain part. first. >> in order to. >> get this magical, better economic situation. when the economic situation was actually pretty good under under joe biden. but a lot of the american people didn't feel it. they're feeling it right now. and at his joint address tonight to congress and to the to the american people, it's going to be very difficult to try to tell the american people they're not feeling what they're feeling or seeing what they're seeing when it comes to the stock market and the prices of everyday goods. tariffs don't work. >> one suggestion we've heard, tara, is that, well, this is joe biden. you know, we inherited joe biden's economy. we're still working on getting out of it, in spite of the fact that he said he was going to bring prices down on day one. but how do you message that in a convincing way tonight? well. >> i think that's. the that's the challenge. i mean, donald trump is very good at repeating things over and over again, whether they're true or they're not. he can try to continue to blame joe biden, his predecessor, for the mess that we're in now. but frankly, joe

biden left donald trump with a very good economy and an excellent stock market and people's 401 s, and the prices of eggs were actually lower than they are right now. so, you know, this is i think that what they're going to do is they're going to say that we need to do this in order to assert, you know, american first priorities. but again, it's going to be difficult for them because it doesn't make sense. tariffs are a tax on the american consumer. the american consumer pays the tariff not the foreign country. and so it will be interesting to see how republicans message this when they know deep down inside that this is not a good idea to go and get into a trade war with our friends in the north and in the south, who we rely on and who have been reliable, good partners for the united states economically. >> peter, the ceo of target and, you know, brian chung, touched on target, but he issued a warning today. let me play that.

>> we'll try to protect pricing, but the consumer will likely see price increases over the next couple of days. >> the next couple of days. peter. the wall street journal also ran an op ed by michigan senator gary peter. he warned that prices for some vehicles again will rise as much as $10,000. obviously, that's the heart of car manufacturing in the united states. what are the chances any of this has an impact on how donald trump thinks and talks about tariffs? >> well, i mean, look, it could be a short term thing. you never know with donald trump, right? he can has a habit of taking drastic actions like this and then reversing himself within a few days because he has some sort of, you know, modest concessions he can point to and claim victory and go home if he decides this is just too damaging. so we don't really know. he's an unpredictable character in that sense, but if it were to go on for a long time, if this were in fact a more enduring impact on the economy, i think then you start seeing republicans starting to speak out because they understand that the economy is

crucial, crucial to their reelection chances in a year and a half when they're facing voters at the midterms. and, you know, the one thing that trump really has had going for him politically over the years was the perception that he was, you know, presiding over a good economy. he likes to say the best economy in history. that's not true. obviously, he's taken more credit for the economy than than it really has, you know, in terms of his actual quality. but it is central to his political identity. and if that begins to shake, then a lot of these other things, you know, the fear, i think, on the part of republicans is it could fray the overall standing for the party. >> tara setmayer, thank you. peter baker, you are staying with us in 90s as president trump prepares to address congress. he has spent six weeks pushing congress to the sidelines. we've got a preview sidelines. we've got a preview next. ♪ febreze! ♪ when you host, your bathroom can feel like a revolving door... keep things fresh with febreze bathroom. it's an outlet-free air freshener fights odors for 45 days.

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he's coming back! hop in during volkswagen deal days. the deals are in while frank is out. 2025 models during volkswagen deal day. >> president trump's speech to a joint session of congress tonight is expected to be his full on celebration of his efforts to remake government as we know it all, in front of the lawmakers whose power he has gone around with a flurry of executive orders. the theme, according to the white house, is the renewal of the american dream. the president will define that as shrinking government, erasing die programs, closing the border and imposing economic tariffs, all under the umbrella of america first. he'll also herald the cuts made by d.o.j,

not just with elon musk watching on from the audience, but fired federal workers, too. democratic lawmakers are inviting those workers to highlight what they say is not just the cruelty of trump's cuts, but his efforts to dismantle the very agencies that help the country run. i want to bring in nbc's kelly o'donnell, who covers the white house for us, white house. melanie zanona is on capitol hill, and peter baker is back with me. so, kelly, this is the president's biggest stage of his second term. what are you hearing tonight from that building behind you? what's the goal? and do you think they're furiously rewriting anything in light of what we've been seeing happen over the last several hours? well, certainly there are ongoing developments, and the president may be making some adjustments, but a big night is one of the areas where president donald. trump enjoys having the stage and coming so early in his administration, just a matter of weeks into his second term. he benefits from the issue of not

having as many outside events that will shape what he wants to talk about. it's really an opportunity for him to stress the things that matter now, clearly. today, we. heard significant pushback from prime minister trudeau of canada. there's ongoing developments with ukraine and zelensky. and so there are certainly a lot of factors on the world stage, but the president intends to have a lot of focus on what matters at home. and by just enacting the tariffs, many consumers are not yet feeling the impact of those, although there's a lot of trepidation about what it will mean when people go to meet their budget needs when it comes to grocery shopping or bigger ticket items like needing to buy a car. so there will be questions about all of that. the white house is certainly focusing on what they think is an early victory lap in the way that they would characterize it. one of the president's top aides had this to say about her expectations.

>> well, there's. >> obviously a tremendous amount of wins that we've had in the trump administration since we started. if you look at. >> the doge. >> cuts, we're going to mention those. we're going to talk about a lot of things. frankly, there's so much. >> good that. >> has happened. >> president trump has. done such tremendous amount of work. in just over a month here. >> i am. >> so honored and proud. and i think. >> the american people are honored and proud, and we need a recap of that. but also, he's going to look forward at. >> what he's going to be doing for this country. >> i'm excited. >> and of course, one of the traditions going back to ronald reagan is guests of the president who attend inside the house chamber, and he will also have guests tonight, including marc fogel, who was released from russia as a part of the early diplomacy that the president engaged in. >> also. >> a woman who represents those who believe that women only should participate in sports. stephanie diller, who is a widow of a police officer killed in the line of duty, and then the family of the man killed at the butler assassination attempt. he

will his family will be present tonight. and that, of course, is very significant because that again, brings the president into a place where he can talk about the risk that he went through during the campaign season. it's one of the pivotal moments of his public life, and he'll be shining a light on that as well. they did so at the convention, and now he's putting it into the sphere of governance. with his first address to the congress in this second term. chris. so, peter, the administration is promising surprises. they're promising. and i'm quoting here, made for tv moments. what are your expectations in terms of optics and tone? >> well, look, you know, he's never been known, of course, for giving a traditional state of the union address. remember that one time he actually awarded a medal of freedom in the middle of his speech to rush limbaugh, who was in the gallery. he likes the theater of that moment. he knows it's the largest audience he'll have for the year. and so

we'll see. you know, he does stick to the script more often at these kind of set piece speeches than he does, for instance, when he's riffing in the oval office with reporters or with foreign leaders or a press conference or even a rally speech. so i imagine that he will be, you know, sticking close to whatever the planned message is rather than riffing to, to spontaneously. but it will be one, i think, as kelly said, you know, celebrating what he sees as his victories and probably, you know, a little poke in the eye at justin trudeau or vladimir zelensky or anybody overseas that he sees as a as a worthy, you know, target. and i think that he likes that a little bit. it's something that gets his juices going. so we'll see what happens tonight. i'm sure he has some surprises in store, but you know it's going to be a long night. >> yeah. how do you address the economy though, peter. i mean, what is he have that he's likely

to say when americans again, you know, not to be a broken record here, but they're paying more for eggs. they're worried about whether they're going to be able to afford that car that they were planning to buy. they're looking at their 401 k and saying, oh boy, i just lost a big chunk of my retirement today. what is the what is the white house see as the good story they have to tell? as alina habba just talked about very generally? >> yeah, i think, you know, they talk about confidence, consumer confidence, poll numbers and so forth, although those are beginning to come back down a little bit. there had been a surge in optimism about the economy when he was elected and when he was inaugurated. i think those numbers have softened considerably at this point, and that's a danger for him. but, you know, he's going to talk about how he has brought back, you know, in a more ephemeral way, a spirit of can-do optimism and that his spending plans in terms of tax cuts and his regulatory relief and these tariffs will all, in the end, restore the american economy to

its great heights, even if it hasn't happened yet. he doesn't admit setbacks. he doesn't admit hardships. for the most part. i don't think you'll hear him talk too much about the things that have gone wrong, but he will in fact spin them as as partial victories or the road to victory down the road. >> so, melanie, some democrats have said publicly that they're going to boycott the speech tonight. but for those who will be there, is there any indication, are you hearing anything that they have plans to disrupt the speech or protest in some way? well, democrats. >> are being. strongly encouraged not to disrupt the speech tonight. i'm told that was the message from house democratic leaders during a closed door caucus meeting this morning. >> house democrats were asked. >> not to use props tonight. >> they were told. >> to use proper decorum, and they were also encouraged to stay on message and keep the spotlight focused on the people who are impacted by donald trump's policies and not to make the stories about themselves. that being said, that doesn't mean they're not going to show their forms of protest in other ways. there is. senate democrats

were rallying on the steps earlier today. some democrats are bringing federal workers who've been fired or impacted by doge as their guests to the speech tonight. and as you mentioned, some democrats are skipping the speech and boycotting it all together. but there is going to be a democratic rebuttal that is going to be from elissa slotkin. she is a freshman democrat from michigan. she, of course, won in a state that donald trump won. so she was a rare bright spot for democrats. and she tweeted out a picture not long ago showing that she's preparing for a speech in her office, a black and white photo with the caption speech prep. so also a big night for alyssa slotkin as well. >> well, peter, let me ask you about her. she is known as a rising star in the democratic party, but this is largely considered a thankless job giving the response to any president. let's just say it's rarely a hit. i want to play a few examples from the past. >> i'm bobby. >> jindal, governor of louisiana. >> tonight we. >> witnessed a great moment in the history of our republic.

>> nothing has frustrated. >> me more than false choices like the one the president laid out tonight. the choice. isn't just between big government or big business. >> tonight. >> the american. >> family needs to. >> have a. >> tough conversation. >> because the truth is, we're all worried about. >> the. >> future of our nation. >> so i actually forgot about that one. how does she deliver a message that is memorable, not just a meme? or maybe you just have, like, a really great catchphrase, right, peter, that you think will end up on social media over and over again? what's your best possibility for an elissa slotkin in a speech like this? >> well, history suggests that you may actually want to aim for not being memorable, because the things that are memorable have generally not been good memories. right? they have not been opportunities to help a rising star like elissa slotkin. now we'll see how she does. she

actually is an important figure because of her status as kind of a moderate, a national security democrat. she won in michigan even as trump won there, showing that she has crossover appeal and that she's not, you know, too far to the left as far as a lot of democrats are concerned. but it's kind of a thankless job. you're going up against the united states, and any president has the advantage of that great venue in the house chamber and has the all of the advantages that come with that. and your stock in a usually in a room by yourself and speaking to a camera. and it's awkward and very hard to capture the audience's attention or inspire in the same way. so, you know, first, do no harm. that's always a good rule in politics. don't make a big mistake. and if you happen to do something memorable and a good sense that take the win. >> peter baker, melanie zanona, thank you both so much. and up next, democratic lawmakers fight back. we'll talk to one congressman and his guests

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president's speech alongside his guest, who lost his job because of trump and elon musk's short cuts. democratic congressman joe courtney and gabriel delatorre. a marine veteran who voted for trump in november. both join me. so, gabriel, first and foremost, thank you for your service. the theme of the president's speech tonight is the renewal of the american dream. although i know you were recently fired from the irs just five days before the end of your probationary period. so what are you hoping to hear from president trump tonight as you sit in the audience, along with other federal workers who also lost their jobs recently? >> first and foremost, thank you for having me on. i'm hoping i hear the president say that he has a plan to reinstate the veterans that. >> were. >> fired. >> and also the spouses. >> of armed forces. >> members that are overseas that use federal employment. that's really it. i'm here on the on behalf of veterans. >> i don't want to say that. elena haba, counselor to the

president, speaks for him, but she is a spokesperson for the white house. and she was asked just today about people like yourself, particularly veterans who have been fired from the federal workforce. and i want to play for you what she said just a short time ago. is the. >> president starting. >> to. think about. >> maybe some of those veterans who worked for the federal government and maybe what the administration can do to at least help salvage their lives? >> well, as you know, we care about veterans tremendously. i mean, that's something. >> the. >> president has. >> always cared about. anybody in blue, anybody that serves this country. >> but at. >> the same time, we have taxpayer dollars. we have a fiscal responsibility to use taxpayer dollars to pay people that actually work. that doesn't mean that we forget our veterans by any means. we are going to care for them in the right way, but perhaps they're not fit to have a job at this moment or not willing to come to work. and we can't, you know, i wouldn't take money from you and pay somebody and say, sorry, you know, they're not going to come to

work. it's just not acceptable. >> i'd like you to react specifically because she's talking about veterans like yourself when she says they're not fit to have a job at this moment, or not willing to come to work. does that apply to you or any of the other veterans who you work with? >> no it doesn't. >> i was in. >> the office. >> all the time. >> i oversaw. >> all. >> the irs facilities in connecticut, so it was kind of. >> i. can't really. >> do. that job from home. >> i was all over the new england region. >> going into. >> these offices, making sure they were running good so that we could have our taxpayer. assistance centers. >> who american. >> people rely. >> on to get taxes done. so it's. >> it's sad. >> to hear, but i'm still here to get veterans their job back. and that's going to be my goal while i'm down here. >> congressman, is there anything you can do to help in that regard? >> so we've. introduced legislation, the veterans job. protection act, which would in fact reverse those firings, which again, i think it's important to remember the federal government actually has been intentionally and targeted in a targeted fashion, reaching

out to veterans to take federal jobs because they have the right skill set in terms of. teamwork training, just like gabe, who did logistics in the marine corps and now, you know, was in a position to make sure these buildings were working, you know, the way they're. supposed to. and, again, was going to work every single day. i mean, it's really tough to listen to someone accuse people. just broad brush without, you know, regarding, you know, really understanding the truth, which is that gabe and others were there diligently because that's what they were trained in the military was just was to show up and follow orders. >> there's all kinds of research that shows how military numbers have been important. and as you say, very disciplined members of the business community after they leave service. but one challenge, congressman, tonight clearly, is that you and other democrats don't have the podium. donald trump has the podium. he'll be able to talk about the guests he's invited tonight.

he'll be able to make emotional connections, for example, with the families of one person who was killed during the assassination attempt on his life. so how do you and other democrats amplify stories like gabriel's not just tonight, but in the weeks to come? do you think that in addition to legislation which will be tough in a republican congress, there is a pressure campaign that can work? >> absolutely. so again. >> dave has been meeting. >> with professional committee staff while he's been here in town, who again, are not this is not just a one and done type of effort. i mean, people understand that this is going to take a while. i mean, he's represented by a federal employees union who, again, is actually representing people like him that the irs just again, arbitrarily and indiscriminately fired. so there's a, you know, appeal process that they're definitely involved in. but, you know, honestly, i think the external pressure of reaching out to veteran service organizations who advocated for these veterans

preference hiring programs like the american legion, veterans of foreign wars, you know, all of. them is going to really put some pressure externally, both in terms of the administration and congress, to really just fix what i think most americans would find, just totally, you know, abhorrent that people who wore the uniform of this country relied on the recruitment efforts that the federal government reached out to them with, are actually going to be able to continue to perform important work, which, by the way, is now not happening. and gabe's instance in terms of, you know, getting ready for the tax season, which is fast approaching. >> and which is so important to virtually all americans. so, gabe, let me ask you if i can personally, emotionally, financially, what this has done to you and your family. >> put a lot of pressure on us, to be honest. we have a six month old baby, my wife and i, a beautiful baby. we love her. parenthood is awesome, but it's put an extra weight on our

shoulders in the meantime looking for employment. while i fight this. but i'm hoping that i can get my job back, and i'm hoping that i can get all the veterans that were fired their jobs back. there was around 6000 veterans that were let go. if i can come here and i can get 5999 veterans a job back, but i don't i'm okay with that. >> to gabriel, congratulations on fatherhood. we wish you well. congressman joe courtney, thank you so much as well. we appreciate your time. and coming up, disappointment and fear in ukraine. after donald trump's decision to pause military aid after that oval office blowup with volodymyr zelensky, can kyivs troops still hold out on the front lines? >> safelite repair. safelite replace. >> nobody likes a cracked windshield. >> i but. >> at least you can go to safelite. com and schedule a fix in minutes. >> can confirm. >> very easy. >> safelite can come to you for

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1-800-403-7539. that's 1-800-403-7539. >> some breaking news. ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy says his country is ready to come to the negotiating table to end the war with russia as soon as possible. he also called last week's oval office blowup regrettable. zelensky's comments come, of course, after the trump administration paused military aid to ukraine. here's vice president j.d. vance. >> what the president has said very clearly about our ukraine policy is. >> that. >> he wants the. ukrainians to come to the negotiating table. we want the ukrainians to have a sovereign and an independent country. we think the ukrainian troops have fought very bravely. but we're at a point here where neither europe nor the united states nor the ukrainians can continue this war indefinitely.

>> nbc's gabe gutierrez is live in washington and also with us, evelyn farkas, former senior adviser to the supreme allied commander of europe, former deputy assistant secretary of defense for russia, ukraine and eurasia, and executive director of the mccain institute. good to have you both here. gabe, what more can you tell us about this pause in aid and any more about where the u.s. relationship with ukraine stands right now? >> hi there. well, that relationship. >> is still. >> not good. >> and yes. >> this pause. >> in military aid, a. >> seismic shift in. >> policy towards a us ally. >> billions of. >> dollars in aid. >> now on hold. now. >> as you mentioned, president. >> zelenskyy today signaled that desire. >> to come back to the negotiating table. >> he wrote. >> online that. >> he was grateful for the. >> u.s. providing javelins. >> he also talked about how the meeting friday did not go the way it was supposed to. and it's regrettable that it happened this way. but he did use the word regret. >> in an interview on. >> friday after. the meeting when he still has not done. and

the white house continues to point this out, is that he has not flat out apologized for what happened. on friday. >> let's listen. >> to more what vice president vance said on the hill just a short time ago. >> look, i think the most important thing a lot of people have made this about public statements. president zelensky needs to say that he's committed to the peace, or president zelensky needs to apologize to the president. the public stuff doesn't matter nearly as much as what are the ukrainians doing to meaningfully engage on what a peaceful settlement would look like? we need the ukrainians privately to come to us and say, this is what we need. this is what we want. this is how we're going to participate in the process to end this conflict. that is the most important thing. and that lack of private engagement is what is most concerning to us. >> so the white house again, saying. >> they. have not. >> seen. that private outreach just yet. it could happen. it just hasn't happened as far as we know thus far. and chris, it is expected to be a major topic. >> in the. >> president's address to the. >> joint session of congress.

>> later on tonight. >> evelyn, usually asking you frankly about vladimir putin. but let me ask you about donald trump. and how tricky do you think this is for volodymyr zelensky to repair what happened? and we all watched it on friday. >> yeah, chris, i mean, i have to agree. >> with the vice president that really what matters is what they're. talking about behind closed doors. and what went wrong on friday was a really horrible exchange, which i won't characterize further than that. in public. and so, you know, all of these conversations, even difficult conversations, especially difficult conversations, should be occurring in private. the question is, though, i would say not what ukraine is willing to give up, because i think they've been pretty clear about that publicly. so they can reiterate it privately. but what is russia willing to give up? if you want to have an agreement, both sides have to be willing to put something on the table to compromise. >> well, i mean, the kremlin spokesman says that we welcome news of the pause and said he

thinks it could push ukraine toward peace. but is that what would happen there? >> not necessarily. chris. >> so a. >> pause, as you. >> know. >> contains some danger for ukraine because, you know, they've seen ceasefires before, that that's what a pause is. it's not a solution to their existential problem, which is that russia is threatening them and will reinvade them if they don't have some kind of security guarantee. so a pause is not sufficient. >> but they. >> have to. take it, i think, as a first step, sorry, because. it seems like our president is insisting on that. >> yeah. in the meantime, you still have people dying. and ukraine's prime minister says even without u.s. aid, they can still hold their own on the battlefield against russia. i mean, can they? and if so, for how long? right. they can. >> and the real question is how long and at what cost? because at some point they will run out of ammunition. now the europeans are, you know, working feverishly, it seems finally to, you know, step into the breach

and help. they're having another meeting in brussels on thursday. if they unlock some of the russian frozen assets and then quickly put them into purchasing ammunition and other things for ukraine, then the ukrainians will have bought themselves literally more time. >> evelyn farkas, it's always good to see you. thank you. appreciate it. and coming up next, our voice of the voters, we return to one critical voting district to see how voters feel now about donald trump's first six weeks back in office. but first, wild, severe weather slamming the south hard. dangerous dust storms in texas. conditions so brutal it's disrupted. mardi gras celebrations in new orleans. we've got the latest. next. >> work. play. >> blink. >> relief work, play. >> blink. relief. >> blink. relief. >> the only ♪ [suspenseful music] trains.

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from her car windshield. look at this. those bright traffic cones in the distance are barely distinguishable. we'll get a report from nbc's jesse kirsch in new orleans, and nbc's jorge solis is reporting from little rock, arkansas. george little rock is bracing for a big hit today, potentially the most dangerous of all these threats. what are you seeing? >> yeah. hey, chris. obviously, it's a lot to keep up with. we're talking about so many different weather elements behind me. the iconic broadway street. >> bridge. >> the arkansas river. we have seen pockets of rain here that at some parts, it's made it almost impossible to see what's behind you. it is calming down a little bit now, but that storm system still on the move. we've seen those tornado warnings and watches in effect for portions of louisiana and now heading towards the jackson, mississippi area. you touched on what we saw in north texas a little bit earlier here. that was obviously very frightening for those folks there. >> you saw those. >> harrowing images of the damage out there that was earlier this morning. one thing

we can say, chris, is that these storms are moving here in the daytime hours. we know these nighttime tornadoes can be absolutely catastrophic and deadly. so to have these systems moving here through the daytime hours at least is a little bit of a leg up here. but make no mistake, obviously a lot of people are being encouraged to hunker down to weather these storms as they move through. even if the skies is behind me right now. look clear. you know that those threats are not done until that system has completely moved away from the region here. and so again, we're looking her, some gray skies, some moderate rain. it is starting to taper off here. but again, we know we're not out of the woods yet. and again as we're looking at radars here, we see parts of louisiana, parts of jackson, mississippi that are next in line for this storm system that is moving fairly rapidly. so hopefully it moves out of this region as quickly as possible. and those folks are spared some of that damage that we've seen in northern texas. chris. >> george solis, thank you for that. so, jesse, the storms have already interfered with mardi gras celebrations. what's

happening. >> here in new orleans? we're bracing for the possibility of severe weather, looking out for potentially even tornadoes. and there's concern about high winds. despite that, you can see there's still hundreds, if not thousands of people in the streets of the big easy celebrating. on mardi gras day. the city moved up and is shortening its two main parades today in hopes of getting this in before the bad weather. right now we still have some sun in the sky, but we have gotten some isolated wind gusts. nothing too strong at this point, but there is concern about high winds and officials have said if winds reach a certain threshold that the concern about winds reach a certain threshold, they will cancel those parades even last minute. >> that window may change on us. and that's why i've made it very clear with everybody i will cancel. no umbrellas, no tents, anything that could be a fly in the wind and cause physical harm. we are a city of carnival. we are known worldwide for that. you don't just cancel that

easily. always public safety always will be number one. >> one of them is almost, if not completely finished at this point. the other is expected to come through here any time now. and so we are waiting to see if all of that can get in before the bad weather really arrives here in new orleans. back to you. >> jesse kirsch. thank you. and coming up, forced out. why the head of the fbi's new york field office now says he was pressured to retire. stay close. more chris jansing reports right chris jansing reports right after this. ♪♪ grandma! ♪♪ still taking yours? everyday! made to care for you, every day. nature made, the #1 pharmacist recommended vitamin and supplement brand. from the #1 rated brand in cordless outdoor power, the ego zero-turn riding mower with e-steer technology. drives like a car. turns on a dime. and

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