so, that was chuck grassley then, this is chuck grassley now. and what donald trump is trying to do and he did very easily with chuck grassley, if he could co-opt some members of the establishment to stand alongside him, then he could steal the republican agenda. for the 2022 midterm election, and make it about him which is what republicans do not want. they want to talk about joe biden, they don't want to relitigate the last election, but here you have it. n they're handing it over to donald trump and saying your agenda is our agenda. >> olivia, this is not just about how hypocritical and power hungry senator grassley is. this has real life consequences as you know from homeland security. the fact that he's now going along with, as gloria said, the very person who harassed election officials. back in february, chuck grassley flew what was happening. he said the reality is trump lost. trump continued to argue that the election had been stolen even though the courts did not back up that claim. but now standing shoulder to shoulder to him, what ar

that was at 91% figure that chuck grassley has been talking about. chuck grassley's numbers, 81%.ery high, to be sure, but surprising to see that ten-point gap. >> it's not just a win for establishment republicans to hug him. republicans are very much damned if they do and damned if they don't. if they call out his big lie, they could find themselves in a primary and alienating their own base. if you don't say anything, they are potentially allowing the man in their party who has the biggest megaphone to hijack their messaging for 2022. republicans right now, the house is theirs to lose. traditionally, they flip the house when one party controls washington. democrats controlling washington. they are very much to take the house. they want to talk about biden and the border and covid, biden's dropping poll numbers. if they allow trump to seize the day and talk about his election grievances and go on about these lies, the big lie, they potentially make 22 a referendum on trump and not biden. that's a disaster for them. >> here's the problem. they don't have the wherewithal. they don'

you've known chuck grassley a long time. i've covered chuck grassley a long time. i would call chuck grassley a capital n, capital r normal republican. cares about farm policy. he's been there for a long time. he issues this minority report that is the kind of thing you would see on a segment of oan, fox news. it attempts to defend the president by saying he never actually pulled off the coup. he's going to be at a rally with him this week end. what does it say about chuck grassley who is aligning himself with a man who did this? >> i think we've seen very few exceptions where republicans have been willing to stand up to this. one of them is liz cheney in the house. i'm not sure how you've focused on this. that house investigation which is bipartisan over in the house where they're really digging deep, issuing subpoenas, something that we are unable to do unless we have bipartisan support in the senate judiciary committee, they are doing that and moving forward is going to be really helpful. and our report here, which as you know, it uncovered a bunch of new stuff,

chuck grassley's conservative consistency in those days could have been mistaken then as principle, and indeed it was mistaken as principle by everyone, possibly even including grassley himself. it took donald trump to reveal that chuck grassley does not believe in anything. chuck grassley has become the perfect example of the unthinking and supremely dangerous trump political foot soldier. eight months ago during the second impeachment of donald trump, senator chuck grassley issued this written statement. president trump continued to argue that the election had been stolen even though the courts didn't back up his claims. he belittled and harassed elected officials across the country to get his way. he encouraged his own loyal vice president mike pence to take extraordinary unconstitutional actions during the electoral college count. there's no doubt in my mind that president trump's language was extreme, aggressive, and irresponsible. this weekend in iowa, donald trump's language was extreme, aggressive and irresponsible and chuck grassley stood right there with donald trump in iowa a

gop senator chuck grassley condemned it on an attack on democracy. e lost the election. he and other republicans seem to be questioning trump's place as the head of the party, but here is grassley now, excusing the former president's attempt to twist the justice department into overturning the win. . >> he listened to the testimony, and in the end, he decided he wasn't willing to do what one of those people in the justice department urged him to do, he wanted them to send letters to all the state legislatures, reactivate your state legislatures and get a whole new set of intelligence. he rejected all of that, and they're trying to make it a scenario that he was trying to get the justice department to the state. >> we learned from a judiciary report that he rejected it because doj officials threatened to resign en masse. here is senator grassley. grassley who's running for an 8th term making it clear why he wants to get trump's support. >> i'm thrilled to announce tonight that senator scchuck grassley has my complete and total endorsement for reelectio

is there any better explanation of trump's hold than chuck grassley these days? re's the explanation. i live in a red bubble, chuck. i live in a neighborhood that's about 85% republican. there's basically two broad categories of people. there are the people who are ready to move on from donald trump, they do not want him in 2024, and there are the people who are like the third bass boat in the boat parade. the trump supporters are very much more vocal. many of them, not all of them, are extremely vicious. this is the voice that republican elected officials are hearing constantly all day every day. the people who are ready to move on, a lot of them are exhausted. they're pulling away. they're not engaging. so only one voice is being heard, and it is the trump voice. but that is not the only voice in the gop electorate more broadly. >> it may be true, but donna edwards, i think that's part of the problem. one of the points of this show today that i wanted to make is this senate judiciary committee report was written based on trump appointees telling what really happ

and yet, now chuck grassley, third in line to the presidency, looking the other way. joining the stage. smiling and accepting the endorsement. and this is trump's game plan now. to stack the decks. get republicans like grassley in his corner. take out secretaries of state and governors in key battleground states who won't back his big lie so that if he runs again, he will have people willing to do his dirty work and parrot false things about voting machines and, i don't know, you know, people from italy hacking into them and changing the vote counts. this is the crazy stuff he said, right, just so he can win. people like congressman steve scalise. the second-ranking highest republican in the house who right now refuses to acknowledge that biden won legitimately. >> you think the election was stolen? >> what i said is there are states that didn't follow their legislatively set rules. >> last time, i promise, do you think the election was stolen or not? i understand you think there were irregularities and things that need to be fixed. do you think the election was stolen

what does that say about chuck grassley of all people who? himself with this man to try to do this. >> i think we have seen very few exceptions where republicans have been willing to stand up to this. one of them is liz cheney, over in the house. and i will note not sure if you focused on this, but we look as we go forward. that house investigation, which is bipartisan, over in the house where they are really digging deep, issuing subpoenas, something that we are unable to do unless we have bipartisan support in the senate judiciary committee. they are doing that. and moving forward is going to be very helpful. and our report here which is, you know, uncovered a bunch of new stuff, i think will be helpful to them in that effort as. well >> final question for you, is about accountability for jeffrey clark, i want to know that there is a letter from the chair, dick chairman of your committee, asking to open an investigation of clark's compliance with applicable rules of professional conduct. why is that important? >> well you have got a lawyer

host: chuck grassley on the senate floor last week. kimberly wehle, those comments and the republican report that came out. guest: i encourage people to read the report itself. we are in an age of misinformation and disinformation. the way to sort through that is to read the document yourself and make your own judgment. you can link to it in my piece for the hill or you can google it. it speaks for itself in terms of what witnesses said including jeff rosen, who according to the report was threatened he would be fired and replaced by someone in the civil division without that expertise which was behind this notion of using the justice department in a way not traditional. it would be a violation of the hatch act to use the power of the federal government to win elections. that is plainly a crime under federal law. secondly, as chuck grassley himself, the irony himself, is 88 years old, has decided to run again for the senate in iowa -- after the january 6 insurrection, he declined to vote to remove donald trump from office. if you recal

chuck grassley saw that. he saw that happen. our governor saw that happen.vior. it's despicable. it is not who we are. that is why this race is so dang important. i mean, i know iowa. i grew up here. i know what we did in 2018 when donald trump wasn't on the ballot the last time. we flipped two congressional seats. we had three out of the four congressional seats that went to democrats. three out of the six statewide races went to democrats, and the republicans in iowa know that they can't win without donald trump and love it or hate it, he's not on the ballot in 2022, and we're going to make sure that we win this thing. we need folks with us. please go to abbey finkenauer.com and join us. we need to hold these folks accountable. they know they know they're vulnerable and they're selling essentially democracy down the line because of the fact that they cannot stand up to donald trump. the lies that led to that day and now they're going to stand on stage next to him endorsing it. >> what do you think it is about the iowa voter that leads them into donald trum

chuck grassley is not a minor figure in the republican party. the chair of the judiciary committee he would if he does it again oversees the trump administration and would want to break the law and executive privilege and he is a major figure. i think with elected republicans battle is they hope there's upside to standing with him, be in power. i guess pass what they want to pass. who knows what they stand for? they see there's downside to be against trump. it is not clear if trump endorses in a primary if that's up and down whether the preferred candidate will win but they know that if you're against him see the numbers and choose to leave public office and don't run again. that's what is clear in the republican party is to say in that i felt like they have to stick with him. it's terrifying. >> if they're against him they will be on msnbc and we welcome. sam, tim, emily, thank you guys all. great to see you this afternoon. >> thank you. >>> still ahead, the tragic cost of covid. more than 140,000 children lost primary caregivers in the pandemi

but chuck grassley came out and said, he lost.ost and i'm paraphrasing but that's troubling that he bullied people in elections across the country in the process in this important thing to keep in mind for viewers elections are run by regular people. the run by our friends and neighbors and teachers, colleagues pretty older people that are retired, these are not people committing fraud or the election a lot of them are volunteers and they came out by the thousands in a pandemic. and to achieve a goal that i thank you so really stunning that we should all started celebrate them and thank them and this constant refrain that inthey somehow committed fraud s really inaccurate. i think chuck grassley has a political agenda in this moment frankly that is going to the reality and the truth of the facts on the ground which are donald trump did what he did and that is make efforts to get investigations going into an ongoing election. and that's, under justice department because we don't want to make really clear, what we don't want is some

after the january 6th attack, republicans, including senator chuck grassley called on former president trump to take responsibility. how is it possible that less than a year later, grassley would stand by trump's side as he spouts new election conspiracy? >> wolf, craven ambition. total hypocrisy. what chuck grassley said after january 6th was even worse than what you just quoted. he accused donald trump of belittling and harassing elected officials across the country to get his way and accused the president of extreme aggressive and irresponsible behavior. and there he is accepting his endorsement because donald trump is popular in his state at the age of 88. he has decided to run for re-election. this is someone who was in the capitol that day and had to hide from the insurrectionists. this is someone who should know better. this is someone who, throughout his political career, has been on the side of whistleblowers and the other day he said that donald trump did absolutely nothing wrong in his office on january 3rd when he was trying to pressure the department of justice to fix the

i want to stick with chuck grassley for a minute. this is revealing.rved in the senate for 90 years. he's kind of a personification of that old school. and you see him standing besides donald trump as he feeds up more about the conspiracy theory and stolen election just as more comes out about his administration's efforts to try to overturn that free and fair election that he lost. if chuck grassley has bought into this, it shows you the extent at which trump has solidified his grip on the republican party. that's not what necessarily the republicans want. they want the 2022 election to be about joe biden. they want it to be a referendum. you put trump back there in the spotlight, it just reminds a lot of voters why they left the republican party in the first place. independent voters, ideological voter, white, college educated voters. those voters were key to president biden's victory in 2020. and for democrats they do want to run the 2022 elections as a referendum on trump and trumpism again. it's hard to do as previous presidents like george bush di

first, though, the whole irony being dead thing because the chuck grassley you heard talking is the sameor each and every attorney general and acting attorney general the former president used as his personal political enforcer or fired when they would not go as far as he publicly -- publicly -- said he wanted them to go. it's the same chuck grassley, by the way, who is running for re-election at age 88 and who recently reembraced the former president, shortly after the man put out a statement saying the 2020 election was the real insurrection. and there he is shaking his hand. the same chuck grassley who dished up this word salad when cnn's gary tuchman tracked him down and asked him about it. >> this is your chance to answer that question. do you think the real insurrection what you said was in november? >> i don't think your question's even appropriate from this standpoint. i would -- i was given a chance to speak five minutes at this event. and i took advantage of that to say about what the biden administration's doing on inflation. nothing. what they are doing at the border, nothing

alongside the former president this week was senator chuck grassley. that's the most senior republican in the senate. the ranking member of the judiciary committee and the man who would be president protem if republicans took back the senate. that makes him third in line to the presidency. it's notable to watch him, listening to trump's attacks on democracy and not pushing back at all. and why isn't he pushing back? well, grassley who is running for reelection gave us a pretty clear window into why. >> i was born at night, but not last night, so if i didn't accept the endorsement of a person that's got 91% of the republican voters in iowa, i wouldn't be too smart. i'm smart enough to accept that endorsement. >> that pretty much sums up the entire dynamic in the republican party right now. so does this interview with the house's number two republican steve scalise. >> do you think the 2020 election was stolen from donald trump? >> well, i've been clear from the beginning. if you look at the number, states they didn't follow their state-passed laws that

you're right, i think of chuck grassley, 88-year-old chuck grassley, he's been in d.c. since, like, 1874. he's running for another term. he doesn't need trump to win re-election. but yet there he is, on his knees last weekend, bowing to donald trump. steve scalise who i served with in congress cannot acknowledge the truth that the election wasn't stolen. none of this is a surprise. it is donald trump's party, and it always has been. >> chuck grassley thinks chuck grassley needs donald trump, though. he almost said as much standing right in front of the president at his rally in iowa where he said, 91% of republicans here support trump. but you think he doesn't need trump? because the way trump looked at it, you're either for him or against him, right? >> there is no middle ground. you can't straddle a donald trump fence. it has got to be full devotion. i don't think grassley needed to do that. he is such a -- an institution in iowa. but the story is he felt like he had to. he felt like he had to kiss the ring. he's not a fringe character in the party. this is trump's pa

that is, let's just be clear, a large part of what that is all about, why the chuck grassley that wees, is not that guy, and it's because of the realities of the republican party and more broadly how it's -- it's the end of shame. there is no -- the law is to be followed because you're worried about repercussions, but it's also kind of the basic norms that -- that society follows. it's like when you get to a red light and no one is there, you still stop at the red light because it's what you're supposed to do. when you get a subpoena, you respond to the subpoena because that's what you're supposed to do. they don't care anymore because donald trump has shattered those norms not just as a dis-ripert but as somebody who has really -- the institutions have disintegrated far beyond just -- >> and they don't care anymore because so many people now live in their silo, right, and the so when the trump spokesman for the state of america said executive privilegy will defended, not on behalf of president trump but also for the united states of america, strike up the band. it's horse manure as

used to make campaign ads for chuck grassley. now 88 years old running for his eight-year term. do you recognize the chuck grassley that now pays fealty to trump? >> no, it's so -- >> his eighth term -- excuse me. i think i said something wrong. go on. >> it's so heartbreaking, don, to see chuck grassley who is an interesting guy. he got involved in politics because he was involved in a union movement. he was always a corky guy who really sort of spoke his mind and to see him for what? what do you get out of this? why do you support donald trump who doesn't believe that joe biden is president that says this incredible racist stuff. it just -- this is how his career is going to end. this is what he's going to be remembered for. that's really -- the greatest danger is not to recognize the greatest danger, don and i think that the problem we have now is that it kind of looks like a normal moment. we have a normal president. it's not a normal moment and we've got to realize that this -- that what happened on january 6th was not a fre

coming up, senator chuck grassley is going to rally with donald trump tomorrow in iowa after puttingluence over the justice department after the november election. what can democrats do to win it back, that is next? >>s next >>s next >>during the holidays. as a barista during rush hour. and a nanny to a couple of rambunctious kids. now, all that experience has led her to a job that feels like home. with home instead, you too can become a caregiver to older adults, with a career that makes a difference. ♪♪ apply today. ♪♪ helen knew exercise could help her diabetes... but she didn't know what was right for her. no. nope. no way. but then helen went from no to know with freestyle libre 14 day, now she knows what activity helps lower her glucose. and can see what works best for her. take the mystery out of your glucose levels, and lower your a1c. now you know. freestyle libre 14 day. now covered by medicare for those who qualify. with voltaren arthritis pain gel my husband's got his moves back. freestyle libre 14 day. an alternative to pain pills voltaren is the first full prescription

chuck grassley accepted the endorsement. almost turned himself into a pretzel trying to avoidancing -- avoid answering the question on fox news. do these two people and a number of republicans in leadership -- do they buy into the trump thing really? if they don't, why do they continue playing along? >> because they're doing exactly what the republicans in the state of iowa want or the republicans in the first congressional district of louisiana want. they're nothing but a manifestation of democracy. the problem is about 35% of the people in this country translates into a large majority of republicans, are just flat out of their minds. there's no -- it's no other way to put it. they might be hard working god fearing people that have a lot of skill. if you believe this election was stolen, you are out of your mind. if you take not taking vaccines, you are out of your mind. i will be nice to you, but i don't have -- i know what you are, nuts. >> how do democrats deal with that mentality? >> you don't. you deal with lawlessness

. >> reporter: republican senator chuck grassley unveiling the gop's rebuttal report thursday, whichlaims that trump's concerns about the election resolved around legitimate complaints and says trurcmp's actions were not unreasonable. >> if the president took the advice of these advisers and said i'm going to do it, how does that create any sort of problem? >> now back to that impending subpoena deadline. kash patel told cnn i will continue to tell the american people the truth about january 6th. wolf, importantly in this statement he provided, he did not say whether or not he is going to comply with those subpoenas. that's still an open question for all four of these gentlemen this evening. >> the deadline is tonight. we'll see what happens, sara mu murray, thank you very much. let's dig deeper right now, our chief political correspondent dana bash is with us, cnn political director david chalian and our chief legal analyst jeffrey toobin is here as well. it looks -- are you at all surprised according to the "washington post" president trump urged them not to comply? >> no, not in t

as for my comment on chuck grassley, i thought it was an extraordinary thing. here you have an actual -- the dean, the dean of the senate, especially on the republican side, going to a trump rally right after he announces re-election campaign and this is someone who while he did not vote for impeachment the second time around did put out a fairly blistering statement that condemned trump for how he handled the post-election lead-up to the january 6 riots. yet here today he issued a report and i thought in some ways more notable than the senate democratic judiciary committee report in that it said essentially trump should be ab solved and almost applauded for not going down the route he explored nine times and testing the system and doing the constitutional responsibility to make sure that the vote was done accurately. it is a wild conclusion to reach akin to saying someone who's conspireing to rob a bank and asking all these people to help him do it should get a pass because he didn't go through with the act of robbery. to me it symbolized that the institutiona

you've been critical about chuck grassley. what about friends and allies of john mccain?re republican centrists? guest: chuck grassley, really i was more disappointed that he felt seeking reelection that he had to be so supportive of president trump. i believe he said he would square -- support him for president. chuck grassley, i disagreed with him a lot, but a wonderful man, honorable man, willing to compromise. and here he is at this stage of the career under pressure to do that. i'm sorry, i got focused. centrists in the republican party sure. the number one now is susan collins. and lisa murkowski. and take a look at the 10 republicans who cosponsored the bipartisan infrastructure bill and helped to write it in the senate, and you've got a great new group, mitt romney, bill cassidy of louisiana, todd of indiana, -- taught -- and lindsey graham came on at the end. lindsay is sometimes -- and this is ok with me -- people will be party line on one thing, which lindsay is, conservative, and there is not a better -- i say this positively -- dealmaker, bipartisan dealmaker

donald trump is very popular among republicans, and senator chuck grassley is a republican. so he's going to stand up there and smile, and except champs endorsement. because iowa is not senator grassley state anymore, no matter how many terms this 88-year-old served. iowa in the republican party belong to trump. it doesn't matter how close he came to murdering american democracy, or how eager he is to do it again. and more likely if probability. a national politician doesn't normally hold a rally in iowa the first nation caucus state. without at least considering a run from the white house. chuck grassley knows that and so does donald trump. but the fact of the matter is, even 88 year old seven terms senators who are in the pantheon of republican politicians in this country, need trump support. or at least the lack of opposition to stay in power. or maybe they just feel like they do, frankly, i think the little untested of chuck grassley told donald trump to go to hell. what would happen? it's hard to find out where perception and reality begins. but in the end it doesn't rea

let's talk about senator chuck grassley, shall we. trump saturday and just as a refresher here's what grassley said the day after the capitol riot. as the leader of the nation, the president bears some responsibility for the actions that he inspires, good or bad. sadly yesterday he displayed poor leadership in his words and actions and he must take responsibility. trump has not taken responsibility obviously. he's using the same exact words that prompted the insurrection saying the election was stolen, but now grassley is okay with it? you're reaction to this. >> yeah, you're right, pamela, and the problem is donald trump but the deeper problem and probably the more dangerous complement to the problem of trump and his base are the establishment republicans like chuck grassley who will not take responsibility for correcting the lie. he was there on stage, he could have said, you know, what i'm a republican and appreciate your support but i do want to say though it was wrong to deny that the election was fair and honest. it's wrong to s

that's chuck. >> that isn't a bad chuck grassley. >> i know chuck pretty well, yeah. >> do you think? >> is he -- yes, of course he is. of course he knows the election wasn't stolen. and, again, he's 87 years old. if you can't stand up at 87 and say, look, this is -- this is jeopardizing our very democracy. it really is. it really is. and it is an existential threat. that's why to me the freedom to vote act is actually the thing i'm most worried about. you said on a scale of 1 to 10, what are you worried about, that's what i'm worried about. the freedom to vote act addresses this very existential threat, all these republican states have passed measures where the state legislature can overturn elections. that is extremely dangerous. so that's the thing i'm most worried about. i am worried about how fast they will get to the package of -- the build back better package. but i believe they will. >> senator al franken, today playing the part of senator chuck grassley, we appreciate you being with us. >> well, thanks. my pleasure. >> okay. >>> the archbishop of the u.s. military defy the w

i want to play something the republican senator chuck grassley said to her at the hearing. . what you said about your korean background reminds me a lot of what my daughter-in-law of 45 years has said. if i learned anything from korean people, it's a hard work ethic and how you can make a lot out of nothing. so i congratulate you and your people. >> and grassley says he meant this as a compliment. but democratic congresswoman juddy chu said of grassley's comments and i quote here, "even if you think you're being complimentary, assigning a character trait to an entire community is the definition of prejudice." how do you see this? >> erin, i saw that clip yesterday, and i certainly cringed. i don't think he meant to be harmful. but you know, i think that there will always be people in this country who don't see asian americans as americans. and that's one of the reasons why so many of us have been speaking out and declaring our belonging in this country. and we're not just your people. we are all part of this country. we are american-born citizens. >> yeah. all right. well, i

"who the hell is chuck grassley," said chuck grassley [ laughter ] today was indigenous peoples' day., of course, some people still call it columbus day and to those people, i say, "how you getting back to jersey?" [ laughter ] path train [ light laughter ] in her new book, ex-white house press secretary, stephanie grisham, called republican senator, lindsey graham, "senator free loader," as opposed to trump, who doesn't call him at all. [ light laughter ] in a new interview -- well - [ laughter ] in a new interview, the ceo of airbnb said that the largest risk to big tech is that, quote, "the world is rooting against them." luckily, they can't hear it from space. [ laughter ] according to a new report, the saudi royal family gave former president trump three robes made with white tiger and cheetah fur that turned out to be fake come on, you guys. even trump know that cheetahs don't look like this [ laughter ] the katmai national park in alaska recently concluded online voting in its, so-called, fat bear week. and a 25-year-old bear, named otis, won for the fourth time. or more accura

here's senator chuck grassley who certainly knows better trying to rewrite january 3rd. that's the day, according to testimony from someone in the room, the former president discussed decapitating the justice department and appointing as attorney general someone who would support his demands as he tried to overturn the election. >> that was the advice that one person in the justice department was suggested but just one person. and he -- he rejected all that. and they're trying to make it a scenario that he was trying to get the justice department. >> yes, that's the same senator grassley who is running for re-election and who stood on stage saturday with the man he once said -- and i am quoting from his statement here -- quote, displayed poor leadership in his words and actions. unquote. he said on the 13th of february, and before that on january 7th -- the day after the insurrection -- so another two days rewritten. but, it takes more to create the danger of a political uprising than just the wholesale creation of an alternate myth to explain a defeat as confederate sta

those republicans like chuck grassley. trump is popular in iowa. chuck grassley wants to be leader rather than ranking member grassley again. liz cheney is also a republican on the committee. this is what she said after she heard steve scalise. millions of americans have been sold a fraud that the election was stolen. republicans have a duty to tell the american people that this is not true. perpetuating the big lie is an attack on the core of our constitutional republic. she is right. she is right. the facts support her. that's not a political partisan statement, but there are so few republicans who are willing to just tell the president he's not welcome and there are so many republicans who want to rush out to be on the stage at a trump rally. >> congressman scalise is essentially trying not to piss off donald trump and while doing so wittingly or unwittingly to your point is laying the groundwork for the potential for 2024 when it gets to the house making decision about electors becoming very, very problematic very quickly. this has been the rep

chuck grassley wanted me to do it. we gave $16 billion and $12 billion, those farmers made so much money they are so rich. remember what i said? i said you will suffer for a little while because we negotiated an incredible trade deal. i don't know if they will honor the deal, but they honored it under me. the farmers made a lot of money. the farmer said go out and buy more land. it turned out to be true. they have never been so successful as they are now big is about we did. don't give credit to the guy who is sitting there, he does not like farmers. i signed a trade deal with china that made so much sense because they were taking such advantage of the country. the farmers for the biggest beneficiary and manufacturers two. i kept my pharmacist -- promises to iowa. kept my promises to everybody. i kept my promises to protect iowa ethanol, and that turned out to be an important promise. thank you. i approved it for use all year round and allowed higher ethanol gasoline to be distributed from existing pumps. they wanted b

you get a photograph of chuck grassley.nscreen. you don't want that? >> i do not. >> thank you, bye. >> trevor: thank you so much for that, michael. when we come back, author michael pollan is going to try to convince me to take drugs. you don't want to miss it, and neither do i. neither do i. this is goi ♪darling, i, i can't get enough of your love babe♪ ♪girl, i don't know, i don't know,♪ ♪i don't know why i can't get enough of your love babe♪ ♪oh no, babe girl, if i could only make you see♪ ♪and make you understand♪ get a dozen double crunch shrimp for $1 with any steak entrée. only at applebee's. now that's eatin' good in the neighborhood. for people who could use a lift new neutrogena® rapid firming. a triple-lift serum with pure collagen. 92% saw visibly firmer skin in just 4 weeks. neutrogena® for people with skin. [vocalizing] [sound of dental machine] open here you go buddy. thank you. ah, thank you. have a good one. you too. [singing] happy birthday you may kiss the bride. [cheering and clapping] [cheering] ♪♪ goo

let's talk about chuck grassley. he gets a past, generally impressed coverage all day long and weighs on sundays. as the kind of cantankerous, but lovable, dean of republican senators. he's going to run again, a reelection term that would bring him to i think if my math is, ray age 94. let's underscore what it means, that chuck grassley is speaking at a trump rally this weekend. >> first off i thought you were going to talk about my social media admit of the red sox tonight. i'm glad we didn't go down that route. as for my social media comment and shook, grassy i thought this was an extraordinary thing. here you have, an actual, the dean of the senate, especially on the republican side, going to a trump rally, right after he announces his reelection campaign. in this is someone who, while he did not vote for impeachment, the second time around, he did put out a very blistering statement. that condemned trump, for how he handled the postelection lead up to the january 6th, riots india here, today, he issued a report,

i'm smart enough to accept that endorsement. >> mike, even people who once respected chuck grassley, looked at that scene as a something disgraceful, as an 88-year-old supplement, who wants another senate term, that will expire when he is 94 years old, mike, what is it's a, when a guy like that, is willing to sell his soul to the man standing behind him? law >> well it says what we just saw in reminded of the image of a heroin dealer, shaking the little bag on top of the chunky. i, pressley knows, better he's had a distinguished career in many ways, but the crack of getting reelected, in the fear of republican primary voters, as little lot of these guys to not only checked their dignity at the, door whatever he has, it's gone i think at least to me, and also check their compass. of what is constitutionally right. this is hard cynical politics, and they fear trump's grip on the republican primary voters. so they make an x essential decision between continuing with the cheap haircuts in the senate, and everybody calling than him senator, or facing the music of maybe losing their job. w

you get a photograph of chuck grassley.creen. you don't want that? >> i do not. >> thank you, bye. >> trevor: thank you so much for that, michael. when we come back, author michael pollan is going to try to convince me to take drugs. you don't want to miss it, and neither do i. this is goi ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ psoriatic arthritis, made my joints stiff, swollen, painful. tremfya® is approved to help reduce joint symptoms in adults with active psoriatic arthritis. some patients even felt less fatigued. serious allergic reactions may occur. tremfya® may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms or if you had a vaccine or plan to. tremfya®. emerge tremfyant™. janssen can help you explore cost support options. 80% get genetically meaningful health info tremfya®. emerge tremfyant™. from their 23andme dna reports. 80%. that's 8 out of 10 people who can get something enlightening. something empowering. something that could change everything. info that could give

this was chuck grassley's statement condemning donald trump's conduct.e said, trump continued to argue the election had been stolen even though courts didn't back up his claims. he belittled and had a hassed elected officials to get his way. he encouraged his own vice president mike pence to take extraordinary actions. my vote in this impeachment does nothing to excuse those actions. there is no doubt in my mind that president trump's language was extreme, aggressive and irresponsible. everyone must take responsibility for their actions. apparently that does not extend to swaying to the warm-up rally this weekend. >> yeah. and senator grassley, far from alone. he of course announced he will run for re-election. so therefore he believes he needs trump voters so he will make nice. if he's on stage to endorse trump. we've heard similar statements from mike pence who is now criticizing the media from its overfocus one day in january, as he put it. something that does not undermine the four years of the trump administration. nicki haley and lindsey graham who

it's alarming when you dig into it, although i will say chuck grassley said, look, this is the president getting talked down out of a bad idea. he didn't go down this road, so it's not so bad. grassley appearing at a rally with former president trump in iowa coming up in the future. but democrats see what they found in this report as really alarming and are talking about a legislative solution to turn what's been an unwritten rule about interference between the white house and the doj into something much more formalized so you can't have a future president interfering or trying to interfere in elections this same way. >> i would like to know what they are thinking that would pass constitutional muster. i get what they're saying, but, boy, there's a separation of powers aspect there that i think that they're going to have trouble with. i want to go through a couple of aspects of this report because the president only backed down after hours of trying to do this in that meeting on january 3rd, and the efforts that mark meadows was having, i mean, i got to remind people here on page 3 of th

senator chuck grassley, take a listen. >> thrilled to announce tonight that senator chuck grassley has my complete and total endorsement for re-election. >> i didn't accept the endorsement of a person that's got 91% of the republican voters in iowa, i wouldn't be too smart. i'm smart enough to accept that endorsement. >> appreciate senator grassley saying what he really feels. >> and what's actually true, right? that's the point. if you want to know if you're a current elected official or running in a primary, you are desperately seeking and hoping for the former president's support. is that the correct read right now? they feel like they don't have another choice? >> he feels like he needs it. at 88 years old i think he would principally be concerned about his own legacy, he would want to be remembered for his own work he's done in congress and i think a lot of people will tie him to trump and trumpism. it's an interesting choice. it's a choice he feels like he has to make. i mean, look at the party and i also think about look at senate minority leader mitch mcconnell. where does that

we could use fewer of their chuck grassleys. >> mr. gibbs, i've got one more you.closing comments bill maher made on his show friday night that instantly ricochetted around the internet with mostly democrats saying that their fellow democrats find these last few minutes of the broadcast, send it to everyone you know. we'll have a brief sampling here and discuss on the other side. >> some presidents spend their post-presidency building homes for the poor or raising money for charity or painting their toes. trump has spent his figuring out how to pull off the coup he couldn't pull off last time. here's the easiest three predictions in the world. trump will run in 2024. he will get the republican nomination. and whatever happens on election night, the next day he will announce that he won. >> so, the entire segment goes on much longer. and we commend it to people's attention. it was ordered. it was reasoned. what's your reaction to the argument he's making? >> i think, brian, it's hard to argue with anything bill said in that clip. i think, to murphy's point, around t

in fear of him or outright embracing him, including an interesting fellow, very publicly so, chuck grassleyis has been one of the most telling moments for the republican party. when i say this, i say chuck grassley, who just turned 88 years old, he wants another term, another six-year term in iowa, iowa is a state where the president, former president you see there, is very popular, maybe even more popular than he's ever been. and so what senator grassley has done is embrace him, embrace him getting his endorsement beforehand, using his role and his position as the top republican on judiciary to have a rebuttal report on january 6th, which was mind-blowing, because chuck grassley, the guy we covered for a while, is a rule of law guy. he supports and promotes whistle blower iowa say this is such a missed opportunity. he has the stature, and more broadly, to give republicans cover to push back against the former president on the big lie, on election lies, and on the idea that january 6th wasn't exactly what it was, which was an insurrection. instead, he did the opposite. he embarrassed it. so

but i'll let you hear chuck grassley. take a listen.e's the ranking member on the senate judiciary committee. take a listen. >> there trump had everybody in the white house to discuss it and unanimously, except for one, they said you shouldn't do what the one lawyer said he thought the president ought to do. the president rejected it. the president did the right thing. how does that create any sort of problem? in fact, if he had made another decision, you would have had a problem. >> so, you know, you listen to that and you hear we're just getting totally different takeaways from this report. again, worth noting the republicans putting out their own report. and we talked to senator tillis about wmaybe they were so different in their takeaways. he said when he was sitting in on one of the hearings people were talking over each other. he thinks those are reflected in the two different reports. >> yes, indeed. thank you for your reporting. >> joining us now washington correspondent for the "new york times", maggie haberman and cnn legal an