at custom inc.com. >> 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. >> president trump's first 100

days watch. >> i'm going. >> to be here five days a week again. >> read and listen. >> staying up. >> half the night reading. >> executive orders. >> for this defining time in the second trump presidency. stay with msnbc. >> good to be with you. i'm katy tur. >> flooding the zone. >> more like. >> picking up a mop. >> president trump. >> has flipped on. >> tariffs again. >> saying in a post on truth social. >> that after speaking. >> with mexico's president. >> he would issue. >> an exemption. >> on tariffs for most goods. coming into the u.s. from mexico. and commerce secretary howard lutnick. told cnbc that he expects canada will get a carve out as well, at least until april. >> when the. >> white house. promises again, most u.s. trade partners. >> will. >> get tariffs because. >> trump has. >> already granted. >> a similar temporary rollback for the auto industry, promising. >> a one. >> month delay for tariffs on automakers whose cars comply with the usmca, which, by the

way, is all of them. again, all of this will. >> he or. >> won't he has created a rocky and wild. ride for the markets, which have tumbled again for the third time this week. now on all of this uncertainty. >> joining us. >> now, nbc news senior business. >> correspondent christine romans. >> punchbowl news co-founder and msnbc political contributor jake sherman and new york. >> times opinion columnist. >> david french. >> all right. what the heck is going on, christine? >> like, he's he's imposing tariffs. he's not imposing tariffs. he's saying you need to do more. and then he's tweeting it two days later that no, it's fine. everything's good. we're talking what exactly is the goal here. it has been an intense week of threats. and then actually implementing tariffs and then carving out the automakers. and now today saying that in us and canada for manufacturers that are are abiding by usmca. that's his. remember he got rid of nafta and had his own trade deal. so for people who are abiding by his trade deal, there won't be tariffs for now until april 2nd. so what's going on? well. is

kryptonite for businesses and the market. and so this this is just complete uncertainty. they don't know if he's serious about all of it. some of it if it's a negotiating ploy, if there will be more tariffs in april that are coming negotiating too though. what's the goal here. that's what i can't make sense of. what are you trying to get out of canada that you don't already have? one of his top aides today told me that these are fentanyl tariffs that we're talking about right now. and then next month we'll talk about tariffs about fairness. so they're still talking about fentanyl. even less comes from the canadian border. and a lot of that is coming over because americans are taking. >> it over. >> the border. so how could that possibly be the real reason. that's what they say is the reason right now. and then there are also trade deficits. and then there's domestic manufacturing. i mean, depending on what conversation you're having, there are different sort of goals that they're and that they're using tariffs. are they unified in what their goals are. do they know the only person who's voice on this really matters is donald trump's. and donald trump wants more tariffs. that's i think the bottom line.

>> the stock market again down 500 points as of right now 1.27%. if donald. >> trump was trying to react to the stock. market to try to stabilize things or lift things back up, this is this is backfiring. and now he's saying and he and howard lutnick his, you know, his his commerce secretary is saying that this isn't about the market. the market is a short term thing. they've got a bigger picture of like breaking down protectionist walls and making america what it should be. howard lutnick earlier today, this is what he said about, you know, making some of these, these tariffs temporary. but the bigger picture. listen. >> if you lived under donald trump's us, mexico and canada agreement, you will get a reprieve from the tariffs now. and if you chose to go outside of that, you did so at your own risk. and today is one. and that reckoning comes. >> there's just a lot of uncertainty, katie. and so at least until now, april 2nd, there's a pause on tariffs for a whole lot of a whole lot of importers. but i spoke to an auto. parts manufacturer, a guy

who makes 200 million auto parts a year in michigan. and he said the only thing certain for him right now is he's got 30 more days to worry. >> okay. >> asked about tariffs. >> by the way. >> donald trump signing. >> an executive. >> order right now, one of them is suspending. security clearances to perkins. >> coie employees. we can get to that later. >> but the other. >> one is about an amendment to the. >> mexico and canada. >> tariffs that said what. >> howard lutnick. >> was saying, which is that anybody who's complying with the usmca, the trade deal. >> that replaced. >> nafta, that donald trump replaced nafta with. they're fine until. >> april 2nd, as christine. >> was. >> saying. >> but asked about tariffs and the stock market. and just to elaborate with from what christine mentioned, trump said that they're globalist companies that he's targeting. because we're taking back these things that were taken from us. we do everything for these countries. it's going to be a little bit different. we were ripped off. i think. >> we'll do better now. >> we have. >> to. >> do this. >> always going to be. >> a short term interruption. >> david, can you make sense of

this from a conservative policy standpoint? i know that there is. >> anger. >> residual anger over. >> nafta back from the 90s. >> it was promised to be a boon that everybody would do better because of it. and it turned out that corporations did a whole lot better. but the american worker. did a whole lot worse. >> well. >> i think it's more. >> complicated than that. i think free trade net has been very, very beneficial for the united states of america. that does not mean that free trade has no cost at all. there are there are costs to free trade. but on balance, it is a tremendous economic benefit. one of the tasks of a responsible government is to try to take care of and to help those who have suffered through free trade. but free trade, on balance, helps all of us. and so i think communicating that's a classic conservative principle. but we're not dealing with a conservative government here. we're dealing with a populist government, and it's a populist government that is animated

primarily by rage and anger. and so what trump is doing is he is lashing out in a million different directions. he's lashing out in a way that's erratic. he's lashing out in a way that doesn't make a lot of sense. but for his supporters, the most important thing is that he's lashing out. this is not so much ideological as it is visceral. and the attack on canada to see how sort of visceral and how much the maga movement is, is dedicated to trump and will adopt trump's targets. i never heard anyone saying a negative word about canada prior to trump unleashing. now, hating canada is part of the is politically correct within maga circles. so katie, what we are not dealing with a conservative government here. i think america just needs to understand that we're dealing with a populist government. >> yeah, yeah. on the. >> subject of. >> just to clarify, on. >> nafta, the. >> american auto worker. >> by and large didn't do. >> well because of what happened to. nafta industry. the industrial worker. >> the manufacturing worker.

>> didn't do. well because of nafta. the court of what used. >> to be the democratic party, the working class. >> rust belt worker. >> which then turned toward donald trump. >> and that's what he's using t. >> wield this. >> populist anger, as you were saying, david. but at the same time, when you're talking about these tariffs and you're going back and forth, we're seeing the stock market dip. and again, only. >> 50% of the country is a party. >> to. >> the stock market. so it's only going to affect the more. >> well-off people in this country. at what point do they do they start to feel the effects themselves and think, well, maybe, maybe it's not so easy to try and go back to 1992. >> that's a great question. i think people will start to feel it. obviously, the 50% of americans who have some stock holdings, they're feeling it right now a bit, but you'll see it more widely felt if prices increase meaningfully. so, you know, we've seen egg prices spike, but that's not related to the tariffs. and people have felt that. but when it comes to

prices related to these tariffs, when people feel it they're going to be angry about it and they're not going to know that, oh, this is because of trump is trying to stop fentanyl. they'll just know that what they're wanting to buy costs more than it should. and that's going to make them angry. and trump i think is forgetting what put him in the white house. what put him in the white house wasn't the it wasn't the fraction of america. that is the true maga base. what put him in the white house was concerns over inflation, concerns over economic stability, concerns over the border. and while he's addressing the border, he's exacerbating right now our economic problems. and while that doesn't have an immediate effect on his approval rating, or at least an immediate substantial effect, it will over time, without question. >> all right. >> kelly o'donnell now joins us from. >> the white house, our senior white house correspondent, nbc news. kelly, this executive order signing and the question. >> and answer. >> time is. >> still going. >> where is the white house's head on this? >> well, certainly what we're

seeing is the president's willingness to reverse course and to make adjustments. if there is a compelling reason or relationship on the line. we saw that with the big three automakers who were able to get a meeting with the president to have a persuasive conversation to explain how it would impact their industry when it comes to especially in auto parts, they're made in the united states, they're made in canada, they're made in mexico with an intention that all of those supply chains would work together to result in one vehicle. and so he was able to hear from them and to make adjustments on behalf of the auto industry when it comes to mexico, same thing. he's speaking positively about president sheinbaum and her leadership and the relationship that she has established with him. and while he still has concerns about the border, he's also reflecting that he wants to show a sign of good faith. so giving additional time for mexico. and when you see these adjustments, you realize that the president, who continuously

talks about how tariffs are powerful is using them as a negotiating tool. we see that play out day by day. he sets a date, leads to some pronouncements. and then there are adjustments. so will we be right back here in 30 days prior to the april 2nd onset of the sweeping tariffs that he's talked about. and then reciprocal tariffs. that's a question mark. and clearly it is now a contest among those who feel they are at a disadvantage. how can they use their relationships and their access to the white house to try to reverse course here. so that is deal making in the flow of incremental policy change at a time when typically businesses need some stability in their planning to adjust to these kinds of costs. and so it's upheaval for sure. and the president thinks it's effective. and the markets and others will determine how this all really plays out. >> yeah. >> i'm curious. >> to see what the. >> deliverables end up being. that anxiety. we're seeing it seeing it expressed in the stock

market. we're also hearing it from average americans. let's listen. >> to just some americans who say that they're. >> they're feeling a little bit of worry about tariffs. >> it definitely costs a lot to get groceries and stuff right now. so i hope that it doesn't go up too much. >> i'm just crossing my fingers hoping things will. you know, we'll get it better. it will not be that quick, but soon it will happen. >> i mean, we don't. >> have a choice. >> if there's certain things that. >> we need, especially food. >> we don't have a choice. >> but to purchase, you know? so. >> i mean, what are you going to do? it's anticipated. >> that the spring. >> sales will be down significantly. >> our metal. roofing is going to go up 25% as well as sheetrock. contractors are going to have to raise theirs. it's going to cost them more. >> building the average house. >> is going. >> to cost. >> more. >> yeah. they're pricing it. >> into their own daily budgets. >> jake. the other bit of uncertainty out there is what's going to happen with entitlements. social security, medicare, medicaid. when the republicans are talking about the budget they put forward. along with the tax cuts.

>> and the. >> immigration funding and. >> the pentagon. >> funding. >> that they. also want. >> part of this big deal. >> that donald trump wants. >> tell me about the savings. how do they get to the desired number of savings? >> it's 1.4. >> trillion or something without eating into medicare, social. >> security. >> medicaid. >> the congressional. budget office, katie put out a letter, i believe it was yesterday that said the $880 billion is just a summary of it. the bill calls for $880 billion in cuts to energy and commerce programs. so programs that fall under the purview of the house energy and commerce committee, there is not enough under the house energy and commerce committee and not enough spending to cut $880 billion without touching medicaid. now, donald trump has said he is not interested in touching social security or medicare. so let's leave that aside for a second. medicaid is obviously a gigantic, gigantic program that impacts a lot of people. that has only been

expanded in recent years. now, i had an event we did a punchbowl news event last night with shelley moore capito, republican senator from west virginia. i asked her about this and she said, listen, in my state, there are i think the number she used is hundreds of thousands of people who are medicaid beneficiaries. so we have to be really careful on what we do. so the house's energy to cut that 1.5 trillion is not going to extend to the senate. it's just not it's going to be a far different thing. so my guess is they end up with a lower cut number. but that's going to be a big problem for mike johnson. and i would say right now if the house not this isn't even a leap to say this. but right now, if the house had its way, there would be cuts to medicaid. now, johnson has said it will be waste, fraud and abuse. a lot of people say there's not enough waste, fraud and abuse to make up those cuts. but this is a moving target, katie, and it's something they're going to spend the next couple of months figuring out. >> okay. >> so you said. >> donald trump. >> is not going to has said he won't touch. social security or

medicare, but. >> medicaid has been on the table. >> maybe here's donald trump saying. >> that he wouldn't. >> touch medicaid. listen. >> can you guarantee that medicare. >> medicaid, social security. >> will not. >> be touched? >> yeah, i mean, i have said it so many times, you shouldn't be asking me that question. okay? this will not be read my lips. it won't be read my lips anymore. we're not going to touch it now. we are going to look for fraud. i'm sure you're okay with that. like people that shouldn't be on people that are illegal aliens and others criminals. in many cases you have a lot of fraud. but no, i'm not. we're not doing anything. >> on that. >> okay. >> so there's that. >> and then also i would i would. note what we saw in the state of the union. i'm sorry, the. >> joint address. >> to congress. donald trump went. after social security for three minutes, disparaged. >> it. >> said it was full of fraud and waste, talked about how dead. people are pulling. >> a social. >> security paycheck, people that are 150 years old debunked. and then also elon musk calling

it a ponzi scheme. >> so people. >> will point out. that when he. >> wants to cut something. >> when he wants to go. >> after something first, he will start to disparage it publicly. so can we say that social. security is not going to be touched? >> we can't say anything definitively, of course, because trump says a lot and we don't know exactly what he means. and he again, he's this is somebody who says set us a lot of different things at different times, and they're oftentimes in conflict. but the through line running through a lot of what we just what you just talked about with kelly is that donald trump will never have to most likely never have to face reelection again. so whether he's willing to cut social security and medicare, there are a lot of people in a one vote margin house republican conference who i think would be quite hesitant to cut social security and medicare. so i think that's important to keep in mind. and. >> you know, doge might go. >> in and try to. slash it and do. >> have its way with it, without

the without the support or the but the care from congress. >> but i want to point this out about doge. doge is doing a lot, but congress still appropriates the money. and i know this sounds quaint, and people might say, oh, well, elon musk will take a chainsaw to it or whatever. okay, but there's about to be a funding bill that's going to be passed next week to keep the government open past march 14th. that funding bill will not include any of the cuts. not one of the cuts that doge is proposing. and you're hearing increasingly, i'm hearing increasingly from republican lawmakers in critical positions. tom cole of oklahoma, who has said, work like we need a chance to look at these cuts, see if they make sense, and then we'll deal with them next year. so i think that's important to keep in mind. >> slow it down. jake sherman, christine romans, kelly o'donnell, david french, everybody. thank you very much for that whiplash whirlwind. >> buckle up. >> give me all of the cliches. all right.

>> pope francis thanked supporters for their daily prayers in his first statement. >> since he was hospitalized. >> for a. >> pair of. respiratory crises. the audio. recording was. >> brief, just. >> two lines in spanish. he was expressing his. >> thanks from the bottom. >> of his heart. it was played at this evening's rosary prayers, and it was the first time the public had heard the pope's voice in three weeks. the vatican says pope francis remains in stable condition, with no new respiratory crises or fever. and he continues to recover from double pneumonia. still ahead, what teachers are. bracing for as. >> donald. >> trump reportedly reportedly moves ahead with his plan to shutter the department of education. we will tell you exactly what that will mean and what. >> the president. >> is considering. >> when it comes. >> to nato. >> that's putting allies on alert. plus, what's happening at the department of veterans affairs. >> that one democratic senator is calling reckless. we are back is calling reckless. we are back in

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>> media that nothing is coming today. in fact, the. executive orders we've seen today have not had to do with this. but she notably did not say that an executive order to try to neuter the department of education. >> is not coming at all. joining us now, president of the american federation. >> of teachers of west virginia, christie skidmore, it is really good to. >> have you back. thank you for being with us. >> let's talk. jd. >> hello from. >> the mountain. >> state again. >> hello. >> let's talk about. >> what this is specifically. >> going to mean. >> what are what are teachers. preparing for as it appears the shuttering of this department is imminent. >> well, here in. >> west virginia, we have fielded. >> several calls today. >> teachers are fearful. >> for their livelihood. >> fearful. they're they're fearing losing. important programing for their for their

students and their families and their communities. >> we have we have. a little bit of we have some concerns. >> how is it affecting the classroom? >> you know. >> i was thinking about. >> this earlier today. >> it's just a shame. >> that our teachers can't continue to focus on educating our most valuable resources. our students, without constant distractions. you know, especially here in our state, they're concerned about their livelihood. >> we're in the middle. we're we're almost we're about a third of the way through legislation, legislature here this year. and they're concerned about their livelihoods, concerned about their benefits. and it's just a shame that they can't have the respect that they need to focus on their jobs and educating, again, our most valuable. >> resources. >> our children. >> yeah, i agree, it's not like

it is the. >> most well remunerated. job in the world. >> it is a job that you do. >> for passion. it's a job. that you do to make. >> sure that you're. >> that this country is raising good, involved, engaged, smart kids. >> a lot of the kids. >> in west virginia. >> are are going to school. >> to eat. >> let's just be frank about it. >> what's going to happen? i mean, the department of education helps fund the food programs, especially at lower income schools. >> make sure. >> that all the kids get breakfast. they get lunch. they can come in on. >> days where. >> there when there's not. school to get a, to get a hot meal. what's going to happen without that funding. >> you know. and i want to go. back to. what you said just a minute ago about our passion. and i was also thinking about this earlier this morning, you know, one, one of the things that teachers take the most pride in is, you know, seeing

our students grow up and become productive members. >> of society. right. >> keep the circle going. and i just don't understand why we would pull resources from our students who need it the most to get a leg up and be productive in society. i just don't understand that, you know? i mean, from what i'm understanding, we have heard that the president wants to send control back of education to the states. that doesn't make much sense because states as as. >> i told you. >> we are in legislative session here and keeping an eye on what is happening here. we know that states already control control, curriculum standards and what our kids are taught. so, you know, whatever we can do to give our kids what they need to be successful. and even thinking about, as you said, neutering, that just doesn't make sense to me. yes, we have kids in our

state who depend on those lunch and breakfast programs for the nutrition that they need on a daily basis. you know, we know that education provides opportunity for all kids and all kids is one of the things that's most important that comes from the department of education, right? you know, their purpose is to level up opportunity for low income children, like many that exist in my state, and especially kids who who need our help the most. >> yeah. >> no, i. >> hear you. and i would just also say just to underscore this, private schools don't have a duty of care for all students. you can send your kid to private school, and if they don't, they don't think your kid is responding well, their behavioral issues, or if they have learning disabilities, whatever they're going to get, they're going to get let go from that private school. a public school has a duty of care to every student. so if you come in with a learning disability, you're going to get taken care of in public school. there's

going to be a teacher there for your needs specifically. and that's just not something you're going to get. if you if we start, you know, breaking it all down and dismantling our public school system. christie i'm running out of time. but thank you so much for joining us. i do hope this gets resolved in a positive way. i appreciate your time. >> so do we. so we can focus on what we need to do most educating our students. thank you for having me. have a great day, christie. >> please do come back. it's good to see you. still ahead. what some of our closest allies are now considering in response to donald trump softening stance toward. russia and how it could affect us very seriously, and what the president just threatened to do if hamas doesn't immediately release all the remaining hostages. he said this before. is there any teeth this before. is there any teeth to this threat? got eyelid itching, crusties and swelling that won't go away? it could be... demodex blepharitis! and we're demodex mites.

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>> 80% off. >> your entire first order. when you sign. up to be a new vip only. >> at athletics comm. >> there is so much to. >> talk about tonight. >> there is so much to cover. we also see. >> voters imploring democrats

and you. >> specifically to fight harder. >> what can you tell. >> voters tonight. >> who say you could be doing. >> more than. >> you're doing? can you tell us what's going on in the senate right now? >> do you know. >> what the. >> d.o.j. group. >> was trying to access at social. >> security that. >> would have caused the administrator to resign? right now, in our time today. the unpopularity of. >> what they're. >> doing really does create real political pressure. >> at the. >> source to stop it, to at least slow him down. president trump has his eyes on nato, an exclusive reporting several current and former u.s. officials tell nbc news the president is considering hinging. article five the mutual defense agreement, on how much allies pay. these discussions come amid another exclusive report that some u.s. allies are thinking of limiting what intelligence they share with washington. as president, trump aligns himself more closely with vladimir putin. joining us now, nbc news senior correspondent covering national security, and the pentagon, courtney kube. so walk us through all of this

reporting, courtney. so on the nato, this. >> is an issue that. >> the trump administration and people close to him have been discussing for some time now. and that is the possibility of basically calibrating the u.s. support for nato based on how much allies pay as far. >> as their defense spending and as a factor of their. gross domestic product every year. so right now. >> nato members are required or supposed to pay 2% of their gdp to. >> go towards defense spending. >> many of the members may make it about 23 of them do. the united. >> states is one. >> the trump administration, though, has been calling for that to increase to 5%. >> of their gdp spent on defense spending. >> that is very difficult. >> for a lot of these allies. frankly, the united. >> states doesn't even meet that right now. but these. >> meetings that that the european union has been having. >> and allies have been having with ukrainian president. volodymyr zelensky, they have talked about widely about increasing this kind. >> of spending. >> what the u.s. could do,

though, if in fact, countries. are not meeting this new mark that the united states has basically set out. the trump administration has set out is maybe curtailing. >> some participation in exercises with nato countries, maybe. >> even pulling some. troops out of the countries. >> that don't meet that threshold. >> this would. >> be a major change to how the united states has handled interactions. >> with nato members historically. katie. and explain the intelligence sharing. yeah. so this is another thing that. >> we are learning. some of these close allies to the united states, including members of the five eyes. that's one of this, this group. >> of five close allies who. >> share intelligence. >> at a. >> very high level. well, they have been having some concerns about the fact that the united states. >> the trump administration, seems to. >> be moving. >> closer towards russia and president. >> vladimir putin. some of the. >> comments that. >> have been coming out of the white house, specifically about russia and vladimir. >> putin, because of that, they are. discussing the possibility.

>> of not sharing. >> as openly with the united states as they. >> have historically. >> one of the major issues. that factors here, katie, is. information about. foreign assets. so those are individuals who are responsible for. >> gathering information. >> intelligence information. >> for some of. >> these nations, there is a lot of concern that some. >> of those assets, their information, their identities could be exposed and they could be put in extreme danger. katie. >> courtney, kobe, thank you very much. and as doge continues its efforts to overhaul the federal government, the va now says it will lay off more than 80,000 workers in a major agency wide reorganization that is set for august. joining us now, founder and ceo of independent veterans of america and host of the independent americans podcast, paul rieckhoff. i want to talk about nato, but let's talk about veterans first. this is a president who campaigned on protecting, cherishing, valuing veterans. there's been no such consideration given to veterans within the federal government.

>> that's exactly right. >> they're saying one thing and doing another. and you asked me how i'm doing. i'm off. and veterans around this. >> country are >> off, and americans around this. >> country are off because it's like every. >> day we're getting another. >> body blow to the. >> soul of america. >> and here. >> we have not even a public announcement. but a leaked memo that the. >> new va secretary, who's a pretty radical. >> guy. is now. >> going to lay off 83,000 people at the va. >> 25% of them are veterans. >> meanwhile, as you cut into. >> the federal government. >> one third of all. >> of those cuts are veterans. we got the unemployment rate down in the beginning of the year to just over 4%. historic low. we've been fighting for 20 years to get the veterans unemployment rate down. this is going to blow it up. and that's the actual effect of what they are doing. will have no. >> matter what they. >> say, watch what they're doing. and right now, the flamethrower that is doge and elon musk is coming straight. >> for the va. >> is there blowback for obviously there's blowback from veterans who've been fired. what about families of veterans, people who voted for donald trump and veterans communities? what have you been seeing? >> yeah.

>> i'm seeing it come from. >> all. >> sides. and where i've really been seeing it come from is inside. >> the va. >> for the last couple of months. they're demoralized. they feel beaten down. there's no clarity. there's no certainty. everybody's waiting for the doge guillotine to drop and get an email in the middle of the night to find out that they're fired. these are people who are disabled veterans. these are people who have honorably served their country and want to continue to serve their country. but they're also fighters. and i've said this before, i think they're making a bit of a miscalculation because veterans are fighting back. they're going to be protests starting as early as next week. we're recruiting independent veterans who've been laid off and fired to run for office this year. we've gotten over 200 of them already that are interested, and we're going to organize like we always do. we're going to fight back for what is sacred. and i think we're going to be a lead element for this entire country, not just for veterans, but for teachers and everybody else who needs fighters right now. >> this is donald trump signing those executive orders we were talking about at the top of the show. one is revoking security clearance for perkins coie, and the other one was exempting everybody who's following or all the goods following the usmca

contract from the tariffs. so a reversal here from donald trump on tariffs. let me ask you about nato. this idea that we wouldn't immediately come to the defense of a nato country unless donald trump decided they were paying their fair share. the big nato allies, all are paying over 2%. donald trump wants to raise it to 5%. by the way, we're not paying 5%. who would get left out in that? >> i think we're going to get left out. i mean, it's shakedown politics, which is the same thing he's been trying to do with ukraine. and i think we continue to drive a knife into the back of ukraine to undercut not just ukraine, but also nato and our own national security. and it continues to isolate us. it continues to create fear and animosity around the country. he's making enemies for america every single day around the world with these kinds of actions, our allies can't trust us. and i want to come back to the center on this. we are less safe when we don't have nato trusting us and sharing intelligence. it's just a very basic thing. we areck, firing th

group and then trying to hire them back, firing the group that was monitoring bird flu and then hiring them back. it has been chaotic. paul rieckhoff, thank you very much for joining us. i'm sorry that you're off. i'd like to see you come in happy. >> i don't think i'm the only one. >> still ahead. >> what donald trump is threatening to do to hamas if the terror group refuses to free the remaining israeli hostages in gaza? plus, what campaign promise? the trump administration seems worried it administration seems worried it will not live up to. they get it... they know how it works... and most importantly, it works for them. i don't have any anxiety about money anymore. i don't have to worry about a mortgage payment every month. it allowed me to live in my home and not have to make payments. unlock a portion of your home's equity with a reverse mortgage loan. get tax-free cash and stay in the home you love. it was the best thing i've ever done. really? yes, without a doubt.

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insurance. the white house confirms the u.s. is directly speaking with hamas about hostages in gaza. donald trump personally weighed in on truthsocial, threatening the terrorist organization, saying, quote, release the hostages now or there will be hell to pay later. joining us now, senior fellow fellow at the carnegie endowment for international peace and former arab-israeli negotiator at the state department, aaron david miller. aaron, good to see you. donald trump has said this before. he said this before. >> i'm sorry. >> donald trump has said this before about hamas. release them all now a few weeks ago or there

will be hell to pay. he didn't follow through with that. how is the organization taking it this time? the terrorist organization? >> you know. >> i think at the same. >> time, donald trump. >> is. >> threatening to wreak havoc on hamas in gaza. >> he's deployed. >> his team, adam. >> boehler. >> the hostage negotiator, and. >> maybe steve. >> witkoff to basically engage hamas, not not just on the question. >> of freeing. >> releasing the one live american hostage and the 3 or 4. >> americans who. >> are not alive, but to discuss what to do about phase two. it's causing the israelis quite a bit of upset. so on one hand, you have donald trump threatened to obliterate hamas in gaza. on the other, donald trump is engaging hamas. so it it sends conflicting signals to an organization that is that wants to seize every opportunity to drive a wedge between the united

states and israel and have its own way, get its own requirements met in phase two. so not clear to me what what the u.s. military could do if it was deployed in gaza. would they have any more success than the israelis after 15 months? i doubt it, frankly. and you'd end up deploying american forces in harm's way. so, no, i think this is it's largely bravado and bluster without impact. the question is not on the military side, katie. it's what will be the impact of the trump administration's willingness to engage a foreign terrorist organization in violation of american statutes and law? >> take this. in addition to what we're seeing with the foreign policy that donald trump is employing in europe, treating our friends like they are our competitors, getting really squishy on whether we'd come to their defense the way that he's

revoked aid, military aid and intelligence with ukraine cozying up to vladimir putin, now he's calling hamas. how does that make benjamin netanyahu feel? does he feel like there's any. would he be looking to europe and starting and start to get a little nervous about donald trump, or is that relationship strong? >> no, i mean, it's strong. but, you know, donald trump changed his position. like people change their socks. so any american partner, ally and friend watching that train wreck in the oval on friday would have to draw the conclusion that their own relationship with trump is fraught. and when the president feels that a partner, ally or friend is getting in the way of something he wants, in this case, with zelensky ending the fighting, not the war, which is a huge distinction. even benjamin netanyahu in the closeness, the resonance that

us-israeli relationship has, relationship has in american politics has to wonder and worry that if donald trump decided he wanted the war in gaza ended, he wanted to broker an israeli saudi normalization agreement. he pressed netanyahu. we haven't seen it yet, but trump's willingness to engage hamas without seeking israel's acquiescence or approval would be very worrying. if you're sitting in benjamin netanyahu's position. >> why is he doing it? >> why is he doing it? i think the impact of his meeting with the hostages who were in washington, i think that's part of it. i think somehow he believes that by force of personality, providing incentives by meeting with them hamas and disincentives by threatening them at some times,

some some way he could shake them loose, even to return one american hostage, which is possible. >> aaron david miller, really good to have you, as always. >> thanks. >> still ahead, what major campaign promise donald trump may be faltering on? don't go anywhere. >> oh, i hate these things. >> that's one of. >> the great things. about consumer cellular. >> they're 100% us based. >> customer service. >> is also 100% human. >> you don't. >> have to owe. >> for those. >> 50 and up. get two unlimited lines for $30 each with consumer cellular. >> safelite repair safelite replace. >> nobody likes a cracked windshield. but at least you can go to safelite. com and schedule a fix in minutes. >> can't confirm. >> very easy. >> safelite can come to you for free, and our highly trained techs can replace your windshield right at your home.

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might be falling short of that, telling the new york times we need to increase the arrests. they are not high enough. joining us now, nbc news senior homeland security correspondent julia ainsley. what's stopping them, julia? well. >> look, this is not a new frustration that we've heard from tom homan. it's one of the reasons why they wanted to impose quotas early on. what's stopping them, katie, are a number of things. one, they don't have the money. they don't have the detention space. they're already over capacity inside ice detention space. and so they're looking to places like military bases. as you know, they tried guantanamo bay. and as we reported here yesterday, they're now rethinking that policy. also, the job here, the focus was supposed to be on criminal migrants. and so far they have had a hard time. it takes a lot more manpower to go after someone who might have a criminal background. and as an investigation, it takes more agents, especially if that person has already been released from a prison or from their sentence, to then go find them at large. what's easier, actually, katie, is to find non criminals, people who are living

in their communities who happen to be at home in their apartment buildings when ice comes knocking. so we've seen an increase in non criminal arrests, but the overall arrest are not up as high as they'd like them to be. they are still higher than they were under the biden administration, but nowhere near the millions and millions that trump said he would deport in his inaugural address. >> where do they stand with the obama administration? because obama, as it currently stands, deported, more illegal immigrants or undocumented immigrants, and than anyone else? yeah, as far. >> as we know, he still holds that title. and what the difference is here is that we're talking about arrests. and that's what he told the times he wanted to increase. that's the numbers they've made public, katie, about the number of arrests. they often tout this 20,000 arrests since the beginning of the trump administration or in the month of february. they have not told us how many people they've deported. and that was the goal. of course, trump campaigned on mass deportations, not on mass arrests. and as we've reported here, some of those arrested are later released, either because they're found not to have final orders of deportation or other

reasons, and they just don't have the space. so some of these people do end up being released after we see these very public raids go down. katie. >> this is kind of why you need legislation. you need legislative legislation to allocate funding and to build up infrastructure. if this is something that you really want to pursue. julia ainsley, thank you very much. and one thing before we go, we've been talking a lot about egg prices in new york city at the grocery stores. it's getting pretty bad, harder and harder to find them for a good price. $12, even at a bodega for a dozen eggs, by the way, bodegas make new york's signature sandwich. you know it. it's the bacon, egg, and cheese. and it's forcing a lot of these places to make some tough choices about what's going into those sandwiches. >> la bonita. >> deli and grocery. >> they're cutting their bacon, egg and. >> cheese price. >> by cutting a corner. >> using liquid egg substitute.

>> same nutrition. >> as a. regular egg, but it costs a lot less. >> that bacon, egg and cheese that used to sell for $6 will now cost $4.99. the working theory behind this. >> out of. >> one carton. >> of liquid eggs, you get. >> 18 eggs versus a dozen. >> making it stretch a little bit. >> further. >> paying less. >> what customer. >> would argue with that? but around the corner from. >> this east. >> 183rd street. >> bodega. >> many were skeptical. >> that's nonsense. using the egg beaters, that's like cheating. cheating in the community. nobody wanted liquid eggs. i want an egg. like if i'm going to pay for an egg sandwich, i want an egg. i want you to crack the egg, not get it out of the container. >> i don't disagree. thanks to john chandler and our friends at wnbc for that report. that's going to do it for me today. deadline. white house starts do you have a life insurance policy you no longer need? now you can sell your policy - even a term policy - for an immediate cash payment. call coventry

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