betsy woodruff and malcolm nance have stuck with us.alcolm, you start, i wonder donald trump ran on an anti-neo campaign and we won't fight for iran or syria or none of that neo mission and then picks nikki haley and then john bolton and these people are out there as if they're working for w. again. >> well, donald trump lied. i mean, it is as simple as that. there is virtually nothing that he does within the body politic where you could express some semblance of organization or forethought. there is absolutely nothing. john bolton was somebody forced in because it was hardline against iran. he took him. he said nikki haley looked like someone from central casting, very well regarded in the republican party. he does not care what they say. and it clearly reflects the bipolar nature of how donald trump likes to govern. he likes people who looks like they are in the job and he makes the decision. >> you're unbelievable, malcolm. that is hideous. that is absolutely hideous. but betsy i grew up in the cold war from 1947 we hid under our des

betsy woodruff and chuck rosenberg. still to come, while you were not looking, the maker of oxicontent, is the family behind that company going to be civilly liable for overdose deaths. >> elizabeth warren says it is time to tax the super rich , billionaires who may also be running for president saying hey, not so fast. esident saying hey, not so fast i'm not doin' that. i eat plenty of kale. ahem, as i was saying... ...with cologuard, you don't need an excuse... all that prep? no thanks. that drink tastes horrible! but...there's no prep with cologuard... i can't take the time off work. who has two days? and i feel fine - no symptoms! everybody, listen! all you need is a trip to the bathroom. if you're 50 or older and at average risk, cologuard is the noninvasive option that finds 92% of colon cancers. you just get the kit in the mail, go to the bathroom, collect your sample, then ship it to the lab! this is your year! own it! cologuard is not right for everyone. it is not for high risk individuals, including those with

betsy woodruff, let's look at these polls. new polls show just over half of all americans believe the president is to blame for the government shutdown. it also says it's taking a toll on donald trump's standing with the public. this month's gallup poll finds the president's approval rating is down to 37%, his worst rating in a year, with 59% disapproving. among independents, trump dropped to a 31% approval rating, dropping eight points since december. in a quinnipiac poll, 33% approve strongly and 8% apryouft somewhat. the poll also found the rating of president trump's handling of the economy is dropping. 49% approve. 48% disapprove. that's the highest disapproval for his job on the economy since his first seven weeks in office. a majority of voters do not think donald trump is fit to serve as president. 53% of voters saying, no. 44% saying, yes. 57% of independent voters find trump unfit to serve. >> two other quick data points. first, donald trump is the only president in the history of polling to never go above 50% his fi

let's talk now with betsy woodruff, and jeff mason betsy, your take on roger stone trying to change his tone now on whether or not he would cooperate with the special counsel. how do you interpret that? >> it is a rapid and significant tonal change that said, the comments he made certainly were not unequivocal essentially what he said has been consistent with what he has been saying the last year or so as he publicly speculated about his legal woes that is he is willing to the the truth and the truth will not be damaging to president trump. he reiterated that message today but the change that i heard is the way he is talking about mueller's investigators. a few days before he was indicted i was texting with roger on the record about how he viewed his involvement in the mueller investigation. and he told me that if he were charged with anything, he said it would be a setup. and he also said that he would use his moment to reveal wrongdoing on the part of mueller's prosecutors to try to argue that he was illegally surveilled and that mueller's lawyers were engaged in sort of egregious vio

joining us now, joyce vance, chris lu, betsy woodruff. great to have all three of you.u take your pick, this could be a very, very busy week. when we talk about oversight coming from this new congress over what i just described of what this current administration with this current president has done while in the white house and before he's been in the white house, what do you expect to see coming from congress that would be the most, if you will, peril for donald trump? >> i think everything puts this president in peril. that's not because anyone is out to get him. that's simply because he's exposed in so many different regards. certainly it will be damaging if his tax records, which could reveal financial connections come to light. but also this entire notion that congress can now look at whether or not he's profiting from the presidency will be very damaging. we know mueller is sticking strictly to his jurisdictional grant of authority, looking at russian connections with the campaign and mueller will, of course, produce indictments. but congress can go beyond that an

. >> let's bring in political reporter for the "daily beast," betsy woodruff busy over the weekend a little bit. let's talk a little bit about roger stone thing that kicked it all off, the indictment. he's not necessarily ruling out he'll possibly work with the special counsel's investigation. yesterday you heard it on abc. what does that mean for the investigation going forward? help viewers understand what roger stone could potentially do for the mueller probe. >> it's a good question. stone also said in that same interview he doesn't have knowledge of any wrongdoing by anyone on the campaign as it might relate to russian efforts to meddle in the 2016 election if roger is telling the truth, which is a monumental if, then, of course, it might not be valuable at the same time we know he had a ton of visibility into what the campaign was doing and knew more than just about anybody in the united states. his tone struck me as surprising i was texting with him earlier last week prior to his indictment i asked him why he thought he hadn't been dielted yet since we were expecting for upwar

paul butler and betsy woodruff, thanks to both of you. appreciate it. >>> coming up, nancy pelosi expressed shock today at some of the people surrounding the president. another of those people who was in court today tied to the russia probe that is next. >>> and later, the lasting damage that the trump shutdown has done to the republican party, the trump campaign and the country. than haul. if i built a van, it would carry my entire business. i'd make it available in dozens, make that thousands of configurations. it would keep an eye on my fleet. [ beeping ] and an eye out for danger. with active brake assist. if i built a van, i'd make it available in diesel and gas. and i'd build it right here, in south carolina. introducing the all new sprinter starting at $33,790. built in the usa. mercedes-benz. vans. born to run. if your moderate to severeor crohn's symptoms are holding you back, and your current treatment hasn't worked well enough it may be time for a change. ask your doctor about entyvio®, the only biologic developed and approved

betsy woodruff, what's this about? is this now running for president in the age of trump?ll welcome additional practice drinking beer. that said, yeah, there is sort of this weird dynamic, i think, with her presentation and the way her campaign is rolled out. and political experts on both sides of the aisle indefinitely knocked her significantly for the way she answered questions about her native ancestry. those criticisms are not going to go away, and plenty of native americans came out and said the way warren talked about her connection to the native american community was really damaging because she presented it in a way that's so divorced from the way these tribes actually understand how their membership works. >> presentation is everything here, because if you look at beto o'rourke, that's a totally different thing. i haven't checked how many views his instagram got, but he put out two views on the border. one of them got 5 million views. this is an upcoming congressman. >> this was a very glossy, well-put-together ad. it certainly screamed like it was coming from som

joining us today, some of our favorite reporters and friends betsy woodruff, political reporter with the daily beast, paul butler, former president prosecutor and msnbc legal analyst, here at the table co-host and executive producer of showtime's "the circus" john heilemann and peter baker back in new york, we're so glad, and daniel day is back, washington bureau chief and presidential lie tracker, one of our favorites. this why seems to be the conversation about ties to russia has landed after friday's indictment of roger stone. we know they lied. we know they were having mountains of communications with russians, which is just weird. you have covered a lot of presidential campaigns there's no reason for that why seems to be the living question. >> it is the question over all of this and gets to the question we still don't know the answer to, what is the core at this is there a case, genuinely large, broad scale case that robert mueller will lay on the table eventually, and the answer to why will be the ultimate determinant of whether there's a conspiracy or not. there's a theory ma

. >> let me bring in michael steele, jonathan allen, betsy woodru woodru woodruff. thank you all for being here. michael, what's your expectation? given what you're seeing this morning, what you heard from mcconnell, what pelosi told garrett. what happens at 4:30 when the leaders some out to the driveway and talk to us at the white house? >> i think they'll say more of the same unless pelosi decides to give the president some money or the president decides he doesn't want the splats anymore, we're going to be in this space for a while. i think the president at this point really wants to do the emergency -- >> the national emergency. >> the national mshlg thing. >> you think he does? >> i think he does. it's actually a cleaner play for him in the end. he can declare that, let the lawyers and the courts and the politicians fight over whether or not he can do it. meanwhile he's done it. and he will begin to go ahead and spend that money the way he thinks he wants to spend it. >> it will be tied up in court. >> that's right. so i think for him that's the off ramp that w

joining me is betsy woodruff, and gabby orr, white house reporter for politico. , with a happy new year to you both. betsy, first, what do we know about this meeting? >> it's tough to game out how many progress should be made. there's zero indicators that the actual terms upon which they're designate have changed in the last week or so. the reality is the wall was the most important campaign promise trump made. it's a bick part of the reason he ultimately became president, and many people are likely to be furious. in the say way for democrats, opposition to the wall is a core mart of principle. it's not just about opposing intending they feel is wasteful and inefficient, but it's a symbol of unwelcome towards non-americans that trump would permanently put at the southern border. all parties will go in firmly trenched into those views. you know i trying to fritter around the edges or weighing to minimize the shutdown is unlikely to change here. >> the trump he administration recognized only this week the breadth of the potential impact, but none of that seems to be

. >> chuck rosenberg and betsy woodruff, thank you guys. >> coming up, kamala harris is running for presidentnnounced today. stay with us. some things are good to know. like, where to find the cheapest gas in town. something else that's good to know? if you have medicare and medicaid, you may be able to get more benefits through a humana medicare advantage plan. call the number on your screen now and speak to a licensed humana sales agent to see if you qualify. depending on the plan you choose, you could have your doctor, hospital and prescription drug coverage in one convenient plan. from humana, a company with over 30 years of medicare experience. and, if you have medicare and medicaid, a humana plan may give you extra benefits - like dental, vision and hearing aid coverage. an allowance for over-the-counter healthcare products. even home delivered meals after an in-patient hospital stay. so if you have medicare and medicaid, call a licensed humana sales agent now to request this free guide. and learn about plans that could give you more benefits. call now. (vo) we're carvana, the company w

betsy woodruff, john harwood. put this in perspective, how significant is this? >> it's extraordinary reporting and unprecedented in the history of counter intelligence work. this is the stuff novel, movies and conversations by counter intelligence professionals over several years might be the stuff of but not reality. putting the president's name in the subject line of a counter intelligence investigation is a sobering thought. i think it's important for the american people to understand what that means and what it doesn't mean. there's sufficient enough evidence to cause the fbi to wonder if the president was the target of recruitment. you can open case for that as well. it's not something done in vacuum. it's not some silly decision made by a couple of agents in a break room one day. this requires levels of approval, legal review, going to the department of justice and having them look at the evidence. with my experience sitting in that lead seat, i'm going to need to see even more than the public antics of the president and some irrational conduct. i'll need

. >>> let's bring in your panel, betsy woodruff, nancy cook, and jill covin. betsy, let's start with you. the optics of this they really just aren't good. you have the president in the midst of this historic shutdown and washington post report saying the president had these hidden conversations with a foreign adversary. so given the damaging nature of this report and what we just heard from geoff, what do you think is going on behind the scenes at the white house today? >> beyond the optics the substance of this also are hugely troubling for people in the intelligence community and the national security space in washington. part of the reason and piece of context that makes this story so disturbing to so many people who work in national security is that we already know that when the president has these private sort of unmonitored conversations with prominent world leaders, he sometimes makes decisions that are hugely consequential. remember, it was a conversation he had with turkish president erdogan maybe about a month and half or two months ago where he decid

let's bring in the former deputy assistant attorney general and betsy woodruff. is also an msnbc contributor. rosenstein reportedly ready to step down. this new reporting says he'll stay on until the probe is over. you know rob rosenstein. what's behind his decision? >> i would say exhaustion first and foremost. a normal deputy attorney general serves 18 months. he did two years. they say that it's a marathon, not a sprint. for rosenstein it was a sprinting marathon with people coming after him personally on all sides. i'll bet he's been eager to get out for a while now and wanted to do the responsible professional thing of waiting until the mueller probe was in relatively safe hands. he was reportedly elated when bill barr was nominated because barr is at least an institutionalist, a professional at doj. i think his time has well since come and he steps down having really served the country almost to the point of dropping. >> betsy, reuters reportedly spoke to rudy guiliani, the president's tv attorney this morning. according to the article, he said mueller rais

a law professor at georgetown university, a former federal prosecutor and betsy woodruff, a politics reporter for "the daily beast. both of which are msnbc contributors paul, i want to get your reaction to the indictment and the story it tells both about the active collusion and the search for hillary clinton e-mail material from wikileaks by roger stone and this weird back and forth he has with the intermediary, the person who is identified as person two, that he's not only using to sort of get this information but then later threatening about being honest about it. >> yeah. so the indictment tells us that roger stone was the trump campaign adviser on hacked e-mails. i don't know if that's his official title, but that's the work that he did and the most revealing allegation is how receptive high-up people in the trump administration were to this information which they knew had been stolen by russia. so, joy, we have people at the very top level of the trump campaign being open and interested in illegal conduct by russia to help install donald trump in the oval office >> right in the

and betsy woodruff, all nbc news contributors. mr. rosenberg, was this an appropriate step for the fbi to take, to launch this investigation? >> you know, that sounds like a simple question, craig. the answer, if it is any other person on the planet, is yes, with all the predicate facts you just laid out. it would be surprising to me if the fbi did not open a counterintelligence investigation. the problem, of course, is that this is the president of the united states. any president sets the foreign policy and intelligence priorities of the country. so you're in this really strange situation, where somebody has done something that suggests they're an agent of a foreign power. yet, they are the person who gets to determine who our friends and allies are and who our opponents and adversaries are. factually, absolutely. structurally, i think it raises very difficult questions for our country. >> matt, robert mueller immediately inherits this investigation when he's named. how does that -- how does this change our perception of what he is

. >> there's an interesting piece out, and betsy woodruff has been in touch with roger stone. and talked about how i think as recent hi as this week, even last night, stone didn't expect this to be coming down today. there was no head's up. there was no back channel from the special counsel's office saying you might want to be home before breakfast tomorrow. >> well, showing up at 4:00 in the morning. the other thing fascinating along those lines is the president -- i think they're going to start distancing themselves from stone. the problem is you can't really do that when the president has a 20-year relationship with roger stone. with cohen, they said, oh, it's a real estate guy, just this heavy who sort of helped us out. >> which also is not credible. >> it's getting harder, harder to keep running. >> of course, coffee boy. >> yes, he was only there a little while, didn't have much to do. it's not credible at all. >> thread out here what giuliani might be saying, what the president is saying, kind of the truth of the marty of what wett we've been discussing? >> it's clear j