>> esper: well, mostly me.ood support from-- from general mark milley. >> o'donnell: mark esper and chairman of the joint chiefs of staff general mark milley ran the army for over a year before finding themselves in charge at the pentagon. in order to deal with what he calls some of the "crazy" ideas coming from the white house, esper and milley came up with a system. >> esper: i come up with this idea. actually, mark milley and i discuss it-- what we call the "four no's". the four things we had to prevent from happening between then and the election. and one was no strategic retreats, no unnecessary wars, no politi-- politicization of the military, and no misuse of the military. and so, as we went through the next five to six months, that became the metric by which we would measure things. >> o'donnell: esper told us he had reason to be concerned, not just about an unnecessary military conflict with an adversary, but with one of our closest neighbors and largest trading partners. >> esper: the president pulls

did you see that interview with esper just now?orge floyd protestors in the legs, but he waits a year to write a book and makes money. that was george carlin's whole thing is they're not looking out for you. >> stephen: yeah, yeah. let's talk about people you look out for. >> yeah. >> stephen: your family. that's right. >> stephen: we've already talked about your lovely wife leslie. there you go. you also have two daughters who are in the business now. does that make you nervous knowing what show business is like? are you, like, go for it, it's not that hard. >> your dream is your kids will surpass you. and they have. >> stephen: no. you want them to fail? >> stephen: number one, baby. number one. ( applause ) are you nervous at all? this is a weird business to be in. >> i like it. i just say stay away from the cocaine. >> stephen: worked for george carlin. did you enjoy the cocaine? >> i never did cocaine. i'm scared of all things. my mom gave me five bucks not to smoke when i was ten years old and i, for some reason, honor that.

and esper said enraged president trump., esper told us that the commander in chief was on the verge of ordering 10,000 active duty troops in to streets of the capital. what was the most disturbing thing he said? >> he was ranting at the room. he is using a lot of, you know, foul language, you know, you all are -- losers. he used the same language and looked at mike pence? >> he did not call him directly, he was looking at him when he said it. that caught my attention and i thought, we are in a different spot, where he is going to finally give a direct order to deploy paratroopers in to the streets of washington, d.c. and i'm thinking with weapons and bayonets and it will be horrible. >> what specifically was he suggesting that the u.s. military should do to these protesters? >> he said, can't you just shoot them? just shoot them in the legs or something? and he is suggesting that's what we should do. bring in the troops and shoot the protesters. >> reporter: the commander in chief was suggesting that the u.s. military shoot

esper shot back. esper is clearly eager to paint himself as a maverick and this administration, he was willing to stand up to trump's worst impulses during the time he served, but there may be some revisionist history at play here. yes, while esper did publicly defied trump by using the military to quash the protest he was actually seen as little more than a rubber stamp for trump's schemes as npr noted he even the derisive nickname jesper for his unwillingness to disagree with those around him in the white house. and then there's the matter of the book itself, you know here's the thing about -- esper knew before the election that trump wanted to bomb mexico, he knew this, and then his top aide stephen miller wanted troops to parade around a dead isis leader's head, dipped in pigs blood. did millions of voters have the right to know what kind of president was seeking reelection? might that information have been relevant before now trying to sell a book? courtney kube covering national security at the

espérate, espérate, vítor. ¿qué te pasa? ¡oye! ¿qué te pasa? diablo, ¿qué te pasa?no me oyes? vítor: súbete ya. albertano: míralo. vítor. ¡vítor! yo no me estaba llevando, vítor, ¿eh? el chasco que le encargué. aquí está, gracias. bájale, ya, ya, bájale, bájale, bájale, bájale, pasaje. rápido, rápido, que les van a cerrar el metro. no manches, vítor. estoy bien cansado, me duelen bien gacho mis riumas. vítor: ya, ya, ya, sin yolanda, mari carmen. mira, ya acabamos, carnal, ahora viene lo más mejor. vamos a repartirnos la lana, ¿eh? albertano: ah, qué bueno. ¿y--y cómo cuánto nos va a tocar o qué? vítor: mira, bueno, para empezar quitamos lo de la cuenta y nos quedan 450 varos. albertano: ah, pues no estuvo tan mal. como 225 para cada uno, ¿sí o no? vítor: ¿qué "pachó"? ¿qué "pachó"? ¿cómo crees que vamos a cobrar lo mismo? no, pues es que hay niveles. yo soy el chofer, tú eres el cacharpo, así que a mí me toca más lana, carnal. son 250 varos para mí y 200 para ti, carnal. ahí está. no, ey, ey, tranquilo, tranquilo, espérate. nos falta hacer cuentas. para empezar, me

mark esper says trump suggested that the u.s.ack lives matter protesters outside the white house. he says it happened the day federal agents used chemical irritants to clear peaceful protesters out of lafayette square after the murder of george floyd. several of the top officials accompanied the then president across the square, including esper and mark milley. now esper has a new book detailing his time with trump. here's what he told "60 minutes" about the oval office meeting that proceeded. >> it was the most disturbing thing that the president said during that meeting on june 1st? >> the president is ranting at the room, he's using a lot of foul language. you all are f'ing losers. then he said to the vice president, he's using the same language and looking at pence. >> he called mike pence an f'ing loser. >> he was looking at him when he was saying it. it really caught my attention. i thought we're in a different spot now. he's going to finally give a direct order to deploy pair troopers into the treats of washington, d.c. an

esper? what do you make of his decision to stay?what was the administration like without secretary of defense mattis? what was it like without general kelly? what was it like -- go down the list of people that trump fired or got rid of, including our top ambassadors in ukraine and elsewhere. what president trump tried to do and was successful almost was to turn every instrument of government into his political arm. that was his desire. i want my generals, my judges, my secretary of state, i want every institution that we believe should act in a manner for all americans, i want them to be my executive arm to impose my will without regard to the constitution and without regard to the rule of law. >> former defense secretary william cohen, thank you for joining us. appreciate it. appreciate your perspectives. >> thank you. >>> no end in sight. a top u.n. human rights official says the brutality and war crimes witnessed in ukraine will most likely continue for some time to come. what it means for the people who haven't fled the war zone

i expect we will hear from esper as he is promoting his book here. noting that cnn reported that esper as well as chairman of the joint chiefs mark milley pushed back on the idea of deploying troops in the sum ore of 2020. we have seen at least reporting about that willingness to push back, but would he have refused an illegal order or been willing to quit over it? that's something we look for a clear answer on. >> is trump and his team, are they responding at all to the new allegations? >> we have seen some response here. i don't have it in front of me. i don't want to misquote it. i don't have that response here in front of me. >> okay. thank you very much. >>> and the face of a hero. this is just an incredible story. a 15-year-old girl is injured as she drives around land mines and through gunfire to get two wounded men to safety. her incredible story of bravery next. >>> and a powerful show of support as a key subway station transforms into a stage. that is u 2's bono. he and the edge performed in what has become a bomb shelter, over the weekend.

judy: mark esper.ook is "a sacred oath: memoirs of a secretary of defense during extraordinary times." thank you very much. >> thank you, judy. ♪ judy: extreme heat is gripping large parts of india and pakistan, affecting hundreds of millions of people in one of the most densely populated parts of the world. temperatures in india's capital rose above 100 again today. fred de sam lazaro reports from india. >> may is the hottest month in india, a time when schools are out and kids learn various ways to cope with the stifling heat, like sharing this muddy pond with the water buffalo. >> it is too hot inside. the water has stopped coming to our house. my mother told me go to pond and take a bath. >> for many mothers, the daily routine makes it difficult to escape. >> it's really hot here. when i cook, i get flashes of heat from the stove. it's hot even in the shade. >> temperatures like these are not unusual for may. but this year they came early, really early, and across a much wider swath of the country

mark esper knew that. many things that could have been worse had he not been in government. he did take the unprecedented step of joining every other living secretary of defense, and condemning donald trump after january 6th. that is remarkable and the american public cannot forget about that. >> alyssa fair griffin, good to have your insight. thank you. >> thank you. >>> the nation's top spy warns that the war in ukraine could escalate further in the months ahead. >> and new covid concerns, a sub variant of the omicron strain is quickly spreading. that's ahead. er 7 million kids develop their passion for learning through our grow up great initiative. and now, we're providingng billions of dollars for affordable home lending programs... as part of 88 billion to support underserved communitities... including loans for small businesses in low and moderate income areas. so everyone has a chance to move forward financially. pnc bank: see how we can make a difference for you. >> the day you get your clearchoice

but i want to come back, jim, and erica, to one point you make about esper.but you have to ask was there any single one episode that would have been so egregious by the president that he should have resigned over it? and i guess in his view, as he looked at it, he adds it up after he's come out of offices and said this guy shouldn't have been president, can't trust him. there wasn't a single triggering event. this is the case -- this is what happens to people who have been in uniform, who have a concept of duty, other things. i'm not trying to excuse everything. but i do think that you have to explain exactly why someone comes out with a memoir like this, with all these episodes and people are, like, how could you work like that? you know it is sort of crazy and bizarre and you think i'm going to -- next time he does something, i'll get out of there. but then he -- it is not quite at the level that is treason. it is a tough thing. he has -- he's warned the american people about what happens. let's see if they listen. >> for some, we heard the tapes, even for

what do you make of what esper writes? miller has really a long history in the trump administration as being one of the most provocative forces, even within the trump administration. putting his hands in all kinds of other agencies, the department of homeland security, it appears here the department of defense. and that kind of relationship that esper describes is one that i heard about reporting on the trump administration from sources about miller wanting to push the envelope to the most extreme places, about what the trump administration should be doing. i think everybody watching probably remembers the so-called muslim ban, when they tried to actually codify trump's election proposal to ban muslims from entering the united states. the person behind that was stephen miller, and so it's not surprising to me that these types of stories would emerge, although as you say, stephen miller denies that it even occurred, but esper points out in the book, miller was one of the people that he believed was pushing trump to be even

esper was -- the book was in review.s. i think people will say, why are you sitting on this? i think that will be a question. on the book tour, if you will. here's another one here. there were george floyd protests across the united states. we saw this after the minnesota police killed george floyd. minneapolis police. new york times reporting from the book, mr. trump asked about the demonstrators. quote, can't you just shoot them? >> it's givingen sight into some of the things we see publicly when he was in office. how he would use twitter to go after his perceived enemies and his rallies to target and now his endorsement to to after enemies. this gives us a view of what he was trying to do behind the scenes to try to target people. >> esper gets into, let me call it the unorthodox nature of the president and his senior advisers. he talks not just about the president, but also about steven miller who at the point of the president's top policy advisers. he recounts miller proposed sending troops to the southern border cl

he said mark esper was weak, totally ineffective. he said he would do anything i wanted. >> well, clearly, i didn't do anything he wanted. and if you recall, i think another author published a story where president trump's head of personnel put forward a two page memo outlining, outlining all the reasons why i should be fired, because i didn't agree with the president or i sagree with him and push back. and look, that's the bottom line is i would expect no less from the president to do some degree of name calling and badmouthing. but that's fine. look, people make their own decisions about about him, about me and and about who's telling the truth. and look, what i what i'm trying to do is tell an important story for the american people, for history about a very tumultuous and consequential time in our nation. and that's the purpose behind me writing this book. >> mark esper the book is a sacred oath memoirs of a secretary of defense during extraordinary times. thank you very much. >> thank you, judy. judy: extreme heat is gripping la

esper said he said that would be a war crime. miller did deny this and called esper a moron.sed we're just hearing about missiles to mexico now, do you think esper should have spoken out sooner? >> yes, he should have spoken out sooner. and donald trump suggested shooting protesters, saying shoot them in the leg, the people who came to d.c. to protest the killing of george floyd. this is very dangerous stuff. and alice is saying the good news is there were people around like esper to push back on this. i think we should all be clear if somehow donald trump runs for president again and ends up in the white house again, those people will not be there. so this is what, you know, we're dealing with. someone like stephen miller will be there. if you just told me that story and said guess who did this, stephen miller would have been exactly who i would have said. so this is the kind of information that, i'm sorry, it's not okay to put in a book to make money, this is the information people should have had going to the polls, in my opinion. >> alice stuart and kiersten powers thank

esper raised various objections mr.aid that we could just shoot some patriot missiles and take out the labs quietly. adding that quote no one would know it was us. mr. trump said he would just say that the united states had not conducted the strike, mr. esper recount, writing that he would have thought it was a joke had he not been staring mr. trump in the face. the times reports that trump also asked esper if the military could put 10,000 active duty troops on the streets of washington after protesting riots erupted in the wake of the killing of george floyd by police. in terms of demonstrators, trump reportedly asked esper, can't you just shoot them. esper reportedly described trump as an unprincipled person who given self interests and should not be in the position of a public service. and esper was fired days after the presidential election in favor of joe biden. we have reached out to former president trump's team for comment. >>> the new white house press secretary when jen psaki departs from her role next week. i

trump fires esper, just days after the 2020 election. was no longer in office during the ex presidents insurrection on january the six. but as pointed to the events of that day, when he was asked whether donald trump was an actual threat to our democracy -- >> do you think donald trump was a threat to democracy? >> i think that, given the events of january 6th, given how he has undermined the election results, he incited people to come to d.c., stir them up that morning, and then failed to call them up. these are threatening to democracy. so yes, what's gonna conclude? >> let's be clear here. it is a good thing that mark esper is sharing these disturbing stories and these insights, important for the american people to know the truth about what's really happened during the trump years, as we continue to learn more and more about them, just how dangerous the ex president was to american democracy. but the fact that esper's only warning about the threat now does beg the question, why didn't he sound the alarm sooner? when esper says he thin

it would impact us in so many ways. >> esper also said mr. trump suggested shooting protesters in washington, d.c., who were demonstrating after minneapolis police killed george floyd. >>> be sure to tune in now to "cbs mornings." former defense secretary esper will join us in our times square studio for more on his new book and his shocking claims about former president trump. >>> we're getting a look at new surveillance video in that nationwide manhunt for an escaped murder suspect and the corrections officer who fled with him. michael george has the very latest. >> reporter: capital murder suspect casey white and former prison guard vicky white still on the run as u.s. marshals conduct a multistate manhunt. new video shows vicky white checking out of a hotel a few hours before she allegedly aided in the jail break. the latest lead, this ford edge abandoned in a rural tennessee neighborhood. inside jail keys and handcuffs. marshals released these photos of the two who are not related, showing the 6'9" casey white's white supremacist tattoos

he calls esper -- he called esper a moron. what do you expect? but there is so many stories, this is a president who publicly suggested that people drink clorox during, you know, during covid. so in a way it is not surprising what went on behind the scenes, because we saw enough stuff that went on in front of us. but you'll have to ask yourself a question, the 25th amendment, to get rid of a president, very difficult thing to do, needs cabinet approval, excuse me, vice presidential approval, et cetera, and you read this and you go, where is the protection here? where is the protection for the american public? and there seems to be really none. >> he argues that he was part of the protection, which is yes stayed even though -- >> that's the rational, right? >> one of the examples is where he said he was worried that trump could use the military because obviously trump's the commander in chief, he could use the military to seize ballot boxes. and that goes to esper's talk about people staying trying to preserve control, trying to sort of run interf

i'm quoting esper here.e by surprise by declaring, i want to meet with the taliban, here in washington, we all sat there stunned for a moment, carefully looking around at one another, an then at limb to see if the president was serious. he was. esper goes on to talk about his immediate reaction. i couldn't believe this was happening. we were actually going to sit down with the taliban at the president's historic maryland retreat, like old friends? there was no way general dunford, chairman joint chiefs of staff and i could join him. the taliban had killed and wounded more than 20,000 u.s. service members in afghanistan since 2001 and that's just counting the physical wounds of war. not only couldn't i personally do it, it would be terrible for any secretary of defense or chairman of the joint chiefs of staff to be sipping tea with these terrorists especially while we still had troops in the combat zone. one of the thoughts that he wanted to have the meeting on september 11th. mark esper will join the convers

that there won't be espers, there won't be jim mattiss around him.is former advisers going public with these concerns. >> bret: ben, obviously trump supporters would say good. >> absolutely they would say good. i mean, they would look at someone be like secretary esper as a problem. look, this is the latest in a long series of washington books stretching back for centuries titled effectively if only they had listened to me. it's interesting to see esper going around and doing these interviews and talking about this today. i actually have a lot of questions about the policy side of things which i'm looking forward to seeing you ask him about in the second part tomorrow because when you drive down into specifics. i'm not sure that he is officer thinks he is dinging things trump over are effective as he believes them to be. in fact, i think you could see situations where the president had the right of the perspective and that esper should not have been standing in the way as he was. yet again though, this is an example of how the trump administration wa

esper's book, that he is unstable.lisher hands him a check. these people ought to be banned from coming on and promoting these books. >> well, we have him on tuesday. >> starting wednesday, yes. >> what do you think, richard? >> look, as a former administration official, you know, worked for four presidents, there's certain things you have to keep quiet. it's part of the deal when you go into administration. but when you see things beyond the pale, against the law and so forth, you want to push back privately. if it is going to go ahead, that's why people should resign. they should resign in principle and explain it. to simply sit on things that are clearly unacceptable, that presidents or officials ought not to do, mike is right, it raises fundamental questions whether people met their obligations. they don't work for the president as the person. they work for us. >> there is the argument, mika, we'll put out there, and we look forward to talking to secretary esper on tuesday about all this, that these men, like gener

that was former defense secretary mark esper in june 2020 going on the record at the time because heve-duty u.s. troops should not be used to quell the protests around the white house that were happening in the wake of the murder of george floyd. now according to a scoop from our friends over at axios, expert and a brand-new book will say that trump sitting in the oval office asked esper about the demonstrators saying this, quote, can't you just shoot them? just shoot them in the legs or something, end quote? we should tell you right now, those of us at nbc have not read the book yet that a representative for the publisher confirms that passage and asked for axios reports. the group was reviewed in whole or in part by three dozen four-star generals, senior civilians and cabinet members and some of them had witnessed what esper witnessed so they could corroborate it. we're back with carol and frank. >> carol, i know you had incredible reporting on the strain and the extraordinary inappropriateness of donald trump, but i hadn't seen this reporting that he wanted protesters shot in the

>> yeah, i covered secretary esper fairly closely.to me, his position was often knowing that there was no good options. on one hand, yes, there are folks who referred to him as jesper. in the other hand, when he did pushback, some of which was public and some which was not. that created a backlash. where you really ended up with, particularly after that moment in june when you had the protesters and secretary esper and general milley and others who were in the square outside the white house, that created a huge uproar. after that, the period of the next few months, he wasn't fired, he wasn't removed, but the things he said made it clear that he would be after the election. >> now, he referenced lafayette, that was one crazy moment of the trump years. he reveals in his book something that was not public, but equally -- he spoke to cbs about this. a moment in which trump asked about which bonding drug cartels in mexico. let's see what he said. >> the president pulls me aside on at least a couple of occasions and says okay maybe we have

by the way, secretary esper will be my guest here on "the late show" next tuesday. please join us.ok, esper recalls what was going on in the administration on june 1, 2020, when demonstrators were gathered at lafayette square near the white house to protest police action in the death of george floyd. and to address their concerns about police brutality, the former president called out the national guard to hit the crowd with tear gas and rubber bullets so he could walk across the street with esper in tow and hold a bible like he was returning a ham sandwich to the deli counter. i'm joking, obviously. he would never return a sandwich. but according-- ( clears throat ) but according to esper's book, that was actually the best-case scenario. esper writes that the former president first asked his defense secretary, "can't you just shoot them? just shoot them in the legs or something?" now, folks, every so often, you learn something about that rancid garbage pile that, unbelievably, still shocks you. the president of the united states asked the secretary of defense to use the military t

>> yeah, [laughs] listen i sincerely hope mark esper booksellers many copies as meghan mccain's.within that. it's interesting because obviously trump is a monster, but he's also a dad, and maybe he wanted to bomb the jakarta's cause it was the only way to get -- stop doing cocaine. [laughs] when you think of it that way gives you a little bit of empathy for donald trump. i love the idea that no one would find out, you know he would've tweeted about it before the bombs landed, he would've tweeted look out, cancun. and then they would've exploded. so, there's no way no one would've found out [laughs] we would've found out immediately. >> -- to get out of mexico. he would've warned, he would've said something to get ted cruz you might want to leave mexico, i heard something's incoming. >> ted cruz stay in mexico. i think you would encourage them to remain there actually [laughs] . >> maria, glad you want to say something, go i? had >> you were speaking, today's mother's day and -- they remind me of donald trump said no one's gonna know. i have a picture of my son with its green all

¡no espere más! ¡llame ahora! ♪ >> es un placer saludarles. vamos con la informaciÓn deportiva. jornada 37, la penÚltima. 2—2 es en marcador. autogol de alessandro. al 96 venÍa el empate, juventus suma 25 puntos. >> sampdoria goleÓ a la fiorentina. al minuto 30 para el 2—0. es el jugador de noruega. >> es el 4—0 . sam doria llega 23 puntos. uy, sofía se dignó a visitarnos. he estado ocupada, prima. ocupada patty. ahora es gigillonaria. ¿gigillonaria? tiene at&t fiber con velocidades hyper-gig... su internet es tan rápido que nos la pasamos viendo series en 8k, sin parar. pero verlas no es lo mismo que hacerlas. mija, sabías que patty... sí, sí... gigillonaria. soy la nueva celebridad de la familia. vive como gigillonario. obtén at&t fiber - ahora con velocidades de hasta 5-gigas. disponibilidad limitada. ♪ paola: llegamos al final, lo cerramos con el noticiero nacional. ramÓn: recuerde que tenemos una cita maÑana. paola: asvidas y cumplir sueÑos. ♪ ♪ leÓn: lunes 16 de mayo y esta son las noticias principales.el ad

people get these information bubbles and people like esper are needed.o i don't want to just -- it's sad that it's news. it shouldn't be news. it's obvious to us. >> right. >> but somebody needs to say it. he has more credibility than i do or, you know a democrat would these days. >> right. >> but it's just i wish there was a little more fervent, given how serious the facts are of what he's reporting out in his book. >> right by his own telling. >> everyone sticks around there, is breaking news on the january 6th front from our own panelist here, the january 6th committee has conducted a thousand depositions and interviews, and we are learning from betsy's reporting that a lot of that is on videotape. betsy will take us through her new scoop on how the committee may decide to use those recordings next, don't go anywhere. recordings next, don't go anywhere adding this. an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan from unitedhealthcare. medicare supplement plans help by paying some of what medicare doesn't... and let you see any doctor. any specialist. anywh

i might also say former secretary ofth the army mark esper, colonel retired united states army mark esper come served in uniform on active duty, served in thene army national guard, served in the army reserve. one of the few people i know who served in all three components of the united states army or distinguished 21 year career. dr. esper, phd, vice president as per of one of the largest defense and aerospace companies that we have in our defense industrial base. professional staff member on the senate foreign relationste committee, had a policy on the house armed services committee, national security adviser to one of thehe most distinguished senators fred thompson, a very varied career and you brought extensive background to your role as secretary of defense and we hear today to discuss your book which is entitled "a sacred oath: memoirs of a secretary of defense during extraordinary times." i and i would like to start by sayingm that i believe, if i am correct, that when you graduated as a second lieutenant from west point you raise your right hand and you said i, mark esper, do sole

esper recounts mr. trump saying. when esper raised various objections, mr. no one would know it was us. trump said he would just say that the united states had not conducted this strike, esper recounts, writing that he would have thought it was a joke had he not been staring mr. trump in the face. we're back with retired four-star general barry mccaffrey, who served as drug czar during the clinton administration. general mccaffrey, what is wrong with sending missiles that we deny sending into mexico? >> well, you know, i think it's going to turn out we owe a lot to secretary esper and general mark milley for keeping us inside the constitution, particularly during the last year of what in some ways is a gangster, low iq government. it's just astonishing. the two most important countries in the face of the united states are canada and mexico, in terms of economic prosperity, in terms of sensitivity to sovereignty issues. by the way, patriot missiles are anti-air missiles. that we would strike another democracy and lie about it is so comical and illegal, it's h

mark esper may have done things. again, we're talking, though, about difference between a situation that's not good but stable and a situation that -- where things absolutely fall through the floor. >> yeah. >> no easy decisions made in there for the people that went into the trump administration. >> all right. we'll be looking forward to having that conversation this morning. a lot of really great questions to discuss with former defense secretary esper. >>> let's start in ukraine. the southern port city of odesa once again came under intense russian attack yesterday. a barrage of rockets hit a shopping mall and a warehouse, killing one person and injuring five others. local officials say at least seven missiles were fired from the russian-controlled crimea region. nbc news has not been able to independently verify that claim. the attack also forced the european council president, who was visiting the city at the time, to take shelter. this is the second deadly strike on the crucial port city in as many days. at lea

he disputes what is a graphic detail coming from esper in -- after the u.s.bu bakr al baghdadi where miller wanted to dismember the body as a warning to other terrorists. nbc news reached out to the former president's team but has not heard back. both of these claims were first reported in "the new york times" as part of their coverage of esper's memoir coming out soon. let me bring in nbc news senior political editor mark murray. pretty explosive claims, right. miller is denying them. what makes this more than a he said/he said? >> i think what makes it more so is the stature of coming from donald trump's last defense secretary, last confirmed defense secretary, and, you know, the claims that esper ended up making in his book beyond what he accused miller of wanting, have the president wanting to lunch missile strikes, to stop cartels in mexico, and maybe most damming of all, charging that the former president just isn't fit for public office. so erratic, according to "the new york times" coverage of esper's book, that he's not fit for public service. as we

mark esper joins me here and says what he saw and why he's speaking out now. >>> welcome to "meet the press daily." i am chuck todd. there's panic in pennsylvania among some republicans as the party faces, you can call it, a monster of its own creation. some fear it could cost them in the battleground state that could cost them the senate. kathy barnett, the candidate drawn from the far right world that has been curated and seated by former president trump and his allies. judging by how everybody is acting in the last 48 hours, she's ahead in some tracking polls because all of a sudden a world of hurt is coming down on her paid for by oz and mccormick. it could cost them the seat being vacated by pat toomey, somebody who voted for impeachment of the last president. now in an exclusive interview, barnett told my colleague that her notoriety may be new but her campaign has been around for a year and she believes it represents the true will of pennsylvania republicans. >> yes, i was trying to tell whoever would listen that when i am walking into these rooms that were filled, and i would

it's sickening that esper has to play nice when he heard it and even after that esper said he still didn't think that was enough to remove trump from office so it just shows the hold that trump had on everybody around him who was too afraid to call him out. trump's history of violence towards black and brown people is no surprised. i'm not surprised by any of this. he also said let's shoot protests after george floyd's death. he also said let's shoot migrants at the border so he made it very clear what he thinks about black and brown poem and i keep coming to the fact that no one was willing to stand up to him and that esper really sat on this to write his book, collect his coin, sure, but still didn't think it was enough to remove him from office, was afraid about it, but we all know at the end of the day when trump was saying nobody would know it was us, he lives for the lie. he's still telling the lie about 2020. he's telling the lie through both impeachment trials and that's the thing that gets him goinging right. he's like we can do this, murder some people in mexico and bomb our neig

. >> allegedly former defense secretary mark esper. you see him there. he claims trump proposed launching missiles into mexico to combat the drug cartels. it's one of many accounts and that spurs new memoir. trump reportedly said he wanted to, quote, destroy the drug labs in mexico. esper says trump followed up the proposal by saying, quote, no one would know it was us. trump is not publicly commented on esper's claims. >> some good news for people who commute to and from the south bay. bart has been given the green light to start its expansion into santa clara county. it was yesterday that the vta board of directors approved the money for construction for phase 2 of this project, which includes a six-mile long extension from the north san jose bart station to downtown san jose. am santa clara, the first phase of this project was completed in 2020 with an extension of bart trains going from milpitas to san jose's various neighborhood. the da is saying that this project will have a huge public transit upgrade for commuters who are coming into silicon vall

. >> i am honored and privileged to be here this morning with a former secretary of defense mark esper. i would also say secretary ofmy the army mark esper, colonel retired united states army, served in uniform on active duty, served in the army national guard, served in the army reserve part one of the few people i know that served in all three components of the united states army for a distinguished 20 career. doctor esper ph d, vice president of the largest defense arrow space in our defense industrial base. professional staff member on the senate foreign relations committee. orhedda policy on the house armd services committee paid national secured advisor 20 most distinguished editors, fred thompson. a varied career and you brought extensive background to your role as secretary of defense. we are here to discuss your book which is entitled the sacred oath memoirs of the secretary of defense through an extraordinary time. i would like to start by saying that i believe, if i am correct, when you graduated as a second lieutenant from west point you raise your right hand. he said i mar

of the army mark esper. colonel retired united states army mark hesper served in uniform on active duty served in the army national guard served in the army reserve one of the few people. i know that served in all three components of the united states army for a distinguished 21-year career. doctor esper phd vice president esper of one of the largest defense in aerospace companies that we have in our in our defense industrial base. professional staff member on the senate foreign relations committee had a policy on the house armed services committee national security advisor to one of the most distinguished senators fred thompson a very varied career in you brought extensive background to your role as secretary of defense, and we're here today to discuss your late your book, which is entitled to sacred oath memoirs of a secretary defense do an extraordinary time in i like to start by seeing that i believe if i'm correct that when you graduated as a second lieutenant from west point you raised your right hand

howard: after the break, why does mark esper wait until he's pushing a book to make a whole bunch of♪ ♪ when someone asked for my medicare number in a text, i knew it was a scam. nice catch. and, your mother knew it wasn't a real email. go, mom! - i don't share my medicare number with strangers. - if you get a call, text or email - strike! - asking for your medicare or personal information, - delete! - shut it down. - nope! learn more at medicare.gov/fraud. howard: mark esper, the former pentagon chief fired by donald trump after election, is on a media blitz with plenty of serious allegations against the former president, and a few journalists are asking why he saved this for his book. >> why now in a book? why didn't you speak out during the trump administration? >> it's very simple. if i spoke out at the time, i would be fired, number one. and secondly, i had no confidence that anyone who came in behind me would not be a real trump loyalist. >> do you think donald trump was a threat to to democracy? >> i think that that given the events of january 6th, begin how he has undermined

of the army mark esper. colonel retired united states army mark hesper served in uniform on active duty served in the army national guard served in the army reserve one of the few people. i know that served in all three components of the united states army for a distinguished 21-year career. doctor esper phd vice president esper of one of the largest defense in aerospace companies that we have in our in our defense industrial base. professional staff member on the senate foreign relations committee had a policy on the house armed services committee national security advisor to one of the most distinguished senators fred thompson a very varied career in you brought extensive background to your role as secretary of defense, and we're here today to discuss your late your book, which is entitled to sacred oath memoirs of a secretary defense do an extraordinary time in i like to start by seeing that i believe if i'm correct that when you graduated as a second lieutenant from west point you raised your right hand

and esper sort of stunned said we can't do that, that won't work.on't think even work in that capacity and say we could do it and say it wasn't us and esper writes he would have thought it was a joke had he not been looking trump in the eye or the face and seen what he was saying and what his mood and disposition was. i had never heard this story before. i was pretty gobsmacked by it, a lot in that book i was pretty gobsmacked by, i can't think of a commander in chief in history who said something like this. >> wow, appreciate it. show you line picture now from outside the supreme court, concrete barriers now visible in latest sign of increasing security after the road draft opinion leak with borgds rights hanging in the balance and with protesters, show you hillary clinton's new warning after the leak, and fighting to enforce the abortion ban, next. >>> also, new developments in the 15 year search for madeline mccann why a prosecutor says he's sure of who is responsible for the disappearance and likely killing the girl who hasn't even turned four y

and i think that there's not a better source than a former defense secretary esper.show himself to be a gangster wannabe who's also quite ignorant. i was amused that he would ask for patriot missiles which are used as air defense missiles, they're not able to be targeted on land targets. but that said, you know, he also thought that this could be done quietly, that the united states would launch missiles and somehow mexico wouldn't know where they came from, and so what if there are second or third greatest trading partner and security of the northern hemisphere, the mexicans would get over it. this is nuts. >> this underscores the word you used in association to trump which was ignorant. you said, you know, he doesn't know this stuff, but he is a gangster wannabe. esper's book also says that trump talked about shooting protesters in 2020 following the police killing of george floyd. you wrote an op-ed for cnn.com this week in you talk about trump's propensity toward violence. so he's not joking, in other words. you think he is terribly serious about the idea of shoo

so good to have you with us today, mark esper. the book and thanks for joining us. i want to focus on this question as a former secretary of defense and what you think about where this war is right now. if it's true that we're entering a more escalatory and highly unpredictable phase, what do you think that says about what we need to be prepared for in the future with this war? >> yeah, well first of all, thanks. great to be with you. let me say this much. the assessment that you portrayed from the dni is a sober one. seems accurate to me. for vladimir putin, it's been a strategic failure to date. he's managed to push ukraine into the arms of the west, deeper. he's brought more nato forces on to his borders. he's unified nato and i hope soon nato will admit two more countries, sweden and finland and shore up the northern flank of the alliance. not just a strategic failure but at the tactical level, he cannot consolidate additional gains in the donbas. they seize one town one day and the next day the ukrainians fight back and retak

¡no espere más! ¡llame ahora! ♪ >>quÉ gusto saludarles. bienvenidos..habÍa sacado ventaja en el primer juego. jimÉnez pelea el balÓn. mala salida de tigres. y es en 1—0 para que resulte en el minuto 19. tigres avanza por mejor posiciÓn en la tabla. y en el clÁsico tapatÍo atlas y chivas empataron a un gol.tambiÉn definÍan un lugar en las semifinales. el ecuatoriano cuando expiraba la primera parte puso al frente a los rojinegros. le dio el empate a chivas. el global 3—2 . los rojinegros avanzan a las semifinales. estÁn ustedes informados. gracias y buenas noches. paola: no olvide comunicarse con nuestro equipo a travÉs de whatsapp. estamos listos. le invita que nos escriba un mensaje. tiene el nÚmero allÍ en pantalla. y antes de despedirme recuerde que para recibir actualizaciones de estado del tiempo en su ciudad y noticias de Último minuto y lo invita a que descarguÉ nuestra aplicaciÓn de noticias. la puedo tener colocando la cÁmara de su telÉfono y es cayendo el cÓdigo que ve en pantalla. asÍ podrÁ descargar nuestra app totalmente gratis. lo veo maÑ