still with us, eugene robinson. jim warren, eugene, it's hard to watch our government behave like this. we wonder why we're such a deeply, cynical, negative society. >> it has taken a while to get here. there was a time. all of us were old enough to remember. congress would actually pass a budget and appropriate money. >> yeah. >> in a timely fashion. >> those people we just heard from haven't done anything wrong, you know? >> no, they haven't. no, they haven't. and it's -- it's just a travesty that they're caught in this situation. so how do we get out of it, right? how do we get out of this situation? and it is difficult to imagine, if not impossible to imagine a negotiated solution between president trump, who basically just says capitulate, and the democrats who have no reason to capitulate, and so maybe he issues an emergency declaration and says, i can build the wall myself and then it doesn't matter whether he actually does it, he claims a victory. but that would be an awful thing. it would be an awful thing f

eugene robinson, ken thomas.thank you both for joining us. >>> coming up, after spending the holidays home alone holed up in the white house, the president had a lot to talk about today. we're back after this. >> during his first cabinet meeting of the new year, president trump took time to reflect on all the alone time he's recently had at the white house. and he had a lot to say. >> when they say the wall's immoral, you better do something about the vatican because the vatican has the biggest wall of them all. there's a reason why politicians and wealthy people build walls around their houses and their compounds. i know more about drones than anybody. i know about every form of safety that you can't have. unless you're a world-class pole vaulter on the olympic team. i'm the only person in the history of our country that could really decimate isis. everybody gives me credit for decimating isis. i like winning. we're hitting the hell out of them, the isis people. we're talking to the taliban and a lot of differen

eugene robinson, ken thomas.nk you both for joining us. >>> coming up, after spending the holidays home alone holed up in the white house, the president had a lot to talk about today. we're back after this. today. we're back after this. at booking.com, we can't guarantee you'll find gold in them therr hills on your vacation. but we can guarantee the best price on this rental cabin. or any accomodation from hotels to yurts. booking.com, booking.yeah >>> i was here on christmas evening. all by myself in the white house. that's a big, big house, except for all of the guys out on the lawn with machine guns. nicest machine guns. i was waving to them. i never saw so many guys with machine guns in my life. >> during his first cabinet meeting of the new year, president trump took time to reflect on all the alone time he's recently had at the white house. and he had a lot to say. >> when they say the wall's immoral, you better do something about the vatican because the vatican has the biggest wall of them all. there's a r

eugene robinson, ken thomas. thank you both for joining us. >>> coming up, after spending the holidays home alone holed up in the white house, the president had a lot to talk about today. we're back after this. er this. >>> i was here on christmas evening. i was all by myself in the white house. it's a big, big house except for all of the guys out on the lawn with machine guns. nicest machine guns. i was waving to them. i never saw so many guys with machine guns in my life. >> during his first cabinet meeting of the new year, president trump took time to reflect on all the alone time he's recently had at the white house. and he had a lot to say. >> when they say the wall's immoral, you better do something about the vatican because the vatican has the biggest wall of them all. there's a reason why politicians and wealthy people build walls around their houses and their compounds. i know more about drones than anybody. i know about every form of safety that you can have. you can't have a partial wall because people

kasie hunt is there, eugene robinson.the president arrives on capitol hill, there is weakening support, at least lisa murkowski said she wants to see the other bill signed and has joined susan collins, cory gardener. it's only three out of the 53 republicans. >> right, three out of 53. others are giving -- i heard marco rubio this morning say, i'm not there yet, but he sort of emphasized the yet. you know, so his support is leaking away in the senate. while mitch mcconnell has held the line so far, i think -- my guess is that if enough republican senators decide they're ready to start passing these democratic bills, which, after all, the senate has passed before, so they favor them. i wonder if mitch is actually going to continue to stand in the way or if he's going to allow a parliamentary maneuver around him and oh, how did that happen, something like that. i just -- you know, the other thing that's interesting, saw it last night, saw it again today, the sort of subdued tone that the president has, as if he's going thro

eugene robinson, associate editor and pulitzer prize winning writer for "the washington post." and ron klain, a former senior adviser to joe biden and president obama and a former chief counsel to the senate judiciary committee. ryan, ron, i want to start with you because i know you served on the senate staff when dan coats was there. your reaction to this direct insult from the president to dan coats, and then this move with chuck schumer tonight with a letter directly to dan coats telling him, as he put it, educate him. i mean, in effect asking dan coats to do the impossible, educate donald trump. >> yeah, look, i not only worked in the senate. i'm from indiana. i worked on campaigns against dan coats. in indiana politics, even his opponents wouldn't say something 1/10 of what his boss said about him today. that's outrageous. as for senator schumer's letter, i mean, look, i think it may be missing the point. this may not be an issue of donald trump being educated or donald trump just being a stubborn old real estate developer who still thinks that gold plating is the solution

eugeneou robinson is an associat editor and pulitzer prize winning writer for the "washington post," george f. will for the "washington post." maria teresa kumar, president and ceo of voter latino.er all are msnbc contributors. and gene robinson, your reaction to the president's speech. >> well, it was, i think, steve schmidt said it was low energy. it certainly was that. he's not very good at the teleprompter thing. you know, i -- i heard two things -- two nuances that were new. one, it'se now a physical barrier. it's not aa wall. it's not the big beautiful wall he promised, of course, paid by mexico. it's ase physical barrier. i don't know, a hedge or something. that he wants. and -- and this -- there was a new lie which is that it's the democrats who insist that the physical t barrier, not wall, be made of steelll rather than it was -- it was almost as if he were just sort of writing an excuse for failing to get the wall. an t excuse to his base for failing to deliver on this ridiculous promise that never could belo fulfilled in the firs place. it was an absurd idea. and he seemed

two pulitzer winners, john meacham, eugene robinson. it's always a treat. thank you.ur coverage continues right after this. >>> the shot heard round the world, history was made tonight in cooperstown, new york. mariano rivera, the best relief pitcher of all time, became the first baseball player in history to enter the baseball hall of fame by unanimous vote. it's never happened before. not to henry aaron or ty cob, not to ripken or dimaggio or mays or mantle or koufax. no one until mo. this is what the word was like while mariano was surrounded by his family and friends. >> i'm calling to tell you we have elected you to the baseball hall of fame. i have another piece of news -- >> yes. >> you are the first person -- >> let's put this achievement another way. all 425 baseball writers voted to put him in the hall the first minute he was eligible. now, we love us some baseball writers in our house, but members of congress are more agreeable and collegial than baseball writers a lot of the time. mariano was also a gift to those of us who were parents of a young pitcher.

joining us now is tim o'brien neera tanden, president for the center of american progress and eugene robinson, associate editor and pulitzer prize winning writer for "the washington post. he's also an msnbc political analyst. eugene, i'm going to start with you on this just to kind of give us your big picture of what you saw today. you saw a president probably at his weakest moment >> yeah. >> if you split screened donald trump and roger stone, it would be hard to tell which of them was getting indicted because roger stone looked jubilant, throwing up his hands like nixon and donald trump looked completely deflated. >> he was deflated he was -- he couldn't even con convince himself of what he was saying he said, well, we have a deal it's not a deal. it was a capitulation. it was the deal -- the exact deal with no alteration, no variation whatsoever that he could have had 35 days ago it was the -- it was basically the deal that he had agreed to and then reneged on back in december it was not a deal. it was a surrender and, you know, one thing that has struck me -- there's a fabulous story in "

"the washington post" columnist eugene robinson is next. stay with us. i knew about the tremors. but when i started seeing things, i didn't know what was happening... so i kept it in. he started believing things that weren't true. i knew something was wrong... but i didn't say a word. during the course of their disease around 50% of people with parkinson's may experience hallucinations or delusions. but now, doctors are prescribing nuplazid. the only fda approved medicine... proven to significantly reduce hallucinations and delusions related to parkinson's. don't take nuplazid if you are allergic to its ingredients. nuplazid can increase the risk of death in elderly people with dementia-related psychosis and is not for treating symptoms unrelated to parkinson's disease. nuplazid can cause changes in heart rhythm and should not be taken if you have certain abnormal heart rhythms or take other drugs that are known to cause changes in heart rhythm. tell your doctor about any changes in medicines you're taking. the most common side effects are swelling of the arms and legs and confus

>>pp maria teresa kumar, george, will, eugene robinson, thank you all for joining us with your analysis tonight. >>> when we come back, we'll be joined bye' congressman adam schiff who is the chairmany of the intelligence committee insc the enhouse. he will discuss both the president's speechdi tonight an new developments in the russia investigation. investigation. hey, darryl. would you choose the network rated #1 in the nation by the experts, or the one awarded by the people? uh... correct! you don't have to choose, 'cause, uh... oh! (vo) switch to the network awarded by rootmetrics and j.d. power. buy the latest galaxy phones, get galaxy s9 free. sometimes a cough gets in the way of a good night's sleep. that's when he needs vicks vaporub. proven cough medicine. with 8 hours of vapors, so he can sleep. vicks vaporub. goodnight coughs. so lionel, what does 24/5 mean to you?rade well, it means i can trade after the market closes. it's true. so all... evening long. ooh, so close. yes, but also all... night through its entirety. come on, all... the time from sunset to sunrise. right. but

eugeneou robinson is an associat editor and pulitzer prize winning writer for the "washington post," george f. will for the "washington post." maria teresa kumar, president and ceo of voter latino.er all are msnbc contributors. and gene robinson, your reaction to the president's speech. >> well, it was, i think, steve schmidt said it was low energy. it certainly was that. he's not very good at the teleprompter thing. you know, i -- i heard two things -- two nuances that were new. one, it'se now a physical barrier. it's not aa wall. it's not the big beautiful wall he promised, of course, paid by mexico. it's ase physical barrier. i don't know, a hedge or something. that he wants. and -- and this -- there was a new lie which is that it's the democrats who insist that the physical t barrier, not wall, be made of steelll rather than it was -- it was almost as if he were just sort of writing an excuse for failing to get the wall. an t excuse to his base for failing to deliver on this ridiculous promise that never could belo fulfilled in the firs place. it was an absurd idea. and he seemed

two pulitzer winners, john meacham, eugene robinson. it's always a treat. thank you.ntinues right after this. ontinues right after this life isn't a straight line. things happen. and sometimes you can find yourself heading in a new direction. but at fidelity, we help you prepare for the unexpected with retirement planning and advice for what you need today and tomorrow. because when you're with fidelity, a partner who makes sure every step is clear, there's nothing to stop you from moving forward. . >>> the shot heard round the world, history was made tonight in cooperstown, new york. mariano rivera, the best relief pitcher of all time, became the first baseball player in history to enter the baseball hall of fame by unanimous vote. it's never happened before. not to henry aaron or ty cob, not to rip ken or dimaggio or maze or mantle or kofax. no one until mo. this is what the word was like while mariano was surrounded by his family and friends. >> i'm calling to tell you we have elected you to the baseball hall of fame. i have another piece of news -- >> yes. >> you

"the washington post" eugene robinson is asking this morning, why are republicans suddenly outraged overoming right back. ♪ ♪ ♪ minimums and fees. they seem to be the very foundation of your typical bank. capital one is anything but typical. that's why we designed capital one cafes. you can get savings and checking accounts with no fees or minimums. and one of america's best savings rates. to top it off, you can open one from anywhere in 5 minutes. this isn't a typical bank. this is banking reimagined. what's in your wallet? this round's on me. hey, can you spot me? come on in! find your place, today, with silver sneakers... included with many medicare plans. call the number on the screen now or visit getsilversneakers.com ♪ like i feel baby ♪ then come on, ♪, ♪ oh come on ♪ let's get it on, applebee's. now that's eatin' good in the neighborhood. i think we're going to serve mcdonald's, wendy and burger king's with some pizza. i really mean it. it's interesting and i would think it's their favorite food. >> do you prefer mcdonald's or wendy's? >> i like them all. if it's american, i like

tim ryan, eugene robinson columnist for the washington post and michael steele, house spokesperson for john boehner. congressman ryan, let me start with you. we said one of the first orders of business, i think they're voting on the rules as we speak or they may have finished that up. you, the new democratic majority, are going to pass a bill to reopen the government. exactly what would that bill provide when it comes to what the president has been talking about when it comes to border security. with the president saying it's dead on arrival, what happens if he doesn't budge to pass it? >> it's going to open up six departments of the government and yet no wall funding and that funding for those six parts will be until september and then give us a month to have a discussion about border security until about february 8th and i think that's the important part. let's figure something out. if we have four weeks or so, let's think a little bit bigger. you know, we're talking about security. some of us don't want a wall, but there's plenty of technology out there. we know that most of the pro

biographer and presidential historian john meacham, his latest work is "the soul of america" and eugene robinson, the celebrated columnist for "the washington post." john, i want you to go deep history professor in short segments, of course, and tell us the origination of the state of the union as a verbally delivered speech that is, i understand it's written nowhere in the mechanism of government? >> right, washington gave it as a speech in 1790 when the capitol was in new york. it's in article 2 of the executive from time to time, give information on the state of the union to the congress and then suggests things for them to do. washington and adams gave the speeches. jefferson in 1801, two reasons really, one, he thought it was too me mark cal, looked a little too much like the british system. the other thing is that jefferson was a wonderful, wonderful writer but a terrible public speaker, and as a great politician he went with what he was best at, and so from 1801 until 1913, the speeches, the statement was sent usually in december, it was called the annual message. wilson had this vision o

strategist susan del percio, associate editor of "the washington post" and msnbc political analyst eugene robinson are a and ceo of axios, jim vandheim. but first, president trump's attorney, rudy giuliani, say sunday that despite multiple denials during the campaign, his client continued conversat

. >> eugene robinson is a colu columnist for the "washington post." and sir michael singleton is a republican consultant who worked on campaigns for mitt romney and dr. ben carson. mr. robinson, first of all, before we get to that, i want to go back to the image we just saw, not far from where you are in washington. president trump and vice president pence visiting the mlk memorial. he was there for roughly two minutes. you saw that and thought what, eugene? >> well, you know, i share congressman jim clyburn's hope, that something rubs off. you know, an administration whose policies are -- can often only be described as cruelty for cruelty's sake, keeping 800,000 workers, federal workers, out of work without pay. sometimes having to work without pay for no reason, gratuitously. separating parents from children for no reason. it is unimaginable that anyone could say that those sorts of things are in dr. king's tradition. so one only has to hope that -- only can hope that something of that monument, something of that legacy, rubs off and that they actua

new york times" political recorder and "the washington post" columnist and associated editor eugene robinson. let me start with you, nick, and read a little bit of your papers. the story out in the last hour. mr. cohen's decision to appear before the house oversight and reform committee february 7th sets the stage for a blockbuster public hearing that threatens to further damage the president's image and could clarify the depth of his legal woes. mr. cohen, congress singulary to mr. trump when he was a real estate developer and presidential candidate, as well as informant as president was privy to the machinations of mr. trump's inner circle and key moments under scrutiny by both special counsel robert s. mueller and federal prosecutors in new york. >> to speak in the president's language, it's going to be huge this year. it's going to have blockbuster rating because everyone wants to hear what cohen has to say in public. it's important in a global way because the things he has been telling have been told all to the special counsel in private. some aspects have gotten out in the press but th

unless you are reading eugene robinson's opinion column in "the washington post" like maybe all of us% of the people aren't, you don't know who howard schultz is. >> they are going to make a big thing, they will go to starbucks with banners and signs, have a big protest. they will disrupt his business just as many on the right did -- david: for about a week. >> the great thing is not only is schultz proud to say i'm a billionaire, i made it myself, which is a great message for somebody to be saying out there, but also, he is exposing liberals for projecting all these proposals they're talking about free health care, free tuition, we don't have the money for it. that is schultz's biggest message. both sides, republicans and democrats, have walked away from fiscal prudence. i think maybe the country is ready to talk about that again. >> good for him. david: this company is an example of how the private sector can do it. he's very proud of the fact that he provides his baristas with education, with health care, that you can't get from obamacare. >> for part-time workers. david: he's an e

well, ruth marcus, eugene robinson, thank you both for being on this morning.xt, the new cover story of the economist is looking at season two of the trump show as the president begins to face the consequences of his own policies and behavior. "morning joe" is back in a moment. orning joe" is back in a moment my name is elaine barber, and i'm a five-year cancer survivor. surviving for five years is a big deal. i had so many people at ctca helping me find a way to go through the treatments. the reality of cancer is not everybody survives. at ctca, they have a huge celebrate life event. that was amazing, because the whole day was about all of the survivors. i'm excited about my future. visit cancercenter.com to schedule an appointment now. at to cover the essentialsyou have in retirement, as well as all the things you want to do. because when you're ready for what comes next, the only direction is forward. this round's on me . hey, can you spot me? come on in! find your place, today, with silver sneakers... included with many medicare advantage plans. call the nu

strategist susan del percio, associate editor of "the washington post" and msnbc political analyst eugene robinson and the co-found are a and ceo of axios, jim vandheim. but first, president trump's attorney, rudy giuliani, say sunday that despite multiple denials during the campaign, his client continued conversations about building a tower in moscow until november 2016. now giuliani is trying to walk back his comments. in a written statement yesterday, quote, my recent statements -- this is the president's attorney. my recent statements about discussions during the 2016 campaign between michael cohen and donald trump about a potential trump tower in moscow were hypothetical. the discussion was in the earliest stage. giuliani quoted what president trump alleged lip saly said to t the trump tower discussions were going on from the day i announced until the day i won. the new yorker magazine asked giuliani about what he said and giuliani said, i "did not say that." it's hard to follow, willie. >> the "new york times" is reporting frustration with giuliani within trump's inner circle. they express c

pryzbyla and prize winning columnist, very wise, and associate editor of "the washington post" eugene robinson. heidi's getting wired up. did we get a text? this morning we'll be joined by two former trump insiders, former white house staffer cliff sims is here for his book "team of vipers." how mad are you, willie, he stole your title for your upcoming "morning joe" expose, right? right? >> well, mine's going to be dark, a little darker than cliff's book. i'm working on it with a publisher. i'll let you proof it. >> let's just say we've been over some very rocky roads in our -- >> yet here we are. >> longest running anchor team on television. >> seriously, come on. can you name four people who have been around for like 12 years of a tv show every day. >> just grinding it out, man. >> the iron man, mike barnicle. >> former trump transition chair chris christie joins us today. he's out today with his new memoir -- let me finish -- the power of in-your-face politics. >> that's what i'm talking about. >> we'll find out what chris christie and cliff sims reveal about the inner workings of the trum

we have editor at large of the web site the bulwark, bill kristol and msnbc political analyst eugene robinsonressman deutch, before we get to our major story of the morning, which broke last night, the shut down, which is in historic lengths at this point with so many american citizens hurting and the economy really at risk, do you see any cracks developing toward an end, any signs of hope of how this ends? >> well, the question is how much pain do the american people have to endure before the president of the united states recognizes it. we -- i come from florida where we're used to natural disasters. we have hurricanes. and when a hurricane comes through, it's inconceivable to cause 800,000 people to be out of work but if that happened, what would happen is the president of the united states would make the federal government's resources available to them and in this case it's the president that's responsible for making 800,000 people being out of work. do we have to see something awful god forbid to happen in the air because we're not paying tsa? we're having trouble with our air traffic co

and yamiche alcindor and msnbc political analyst eugene robinson is with all of us. joe is awake and -- it was a tough night. >> it was ugly. >> it was ugly. >> willie, let's set the record straight. clemson is the best team in college football by a long shot. >> oh, my lord! >> i don't want to get overdramatic but last night did seem like the changing of the guard. this was an alabama team that has spent a decade dominating others. this reminded me an awful lot of 1992 and alabama won their first national championship in, you know, about a decade and a half. and they just humiliated the miami hurricanes and the program wasn't ever the same. i'm not saying that's what's going to happen here, but it sure felt like the changing of the guards in college football last night. >> well, on the up side, joe, you look chipper this morning because you could go to bed in the third quarter, which i did, too. >> he does. he did not. >> trevor lawrence, a teen-ager, a freshman, was absolutely incredible against one of the best defenses in the country in alabama. these two teams wi

also with us, could ummist and associate of the washington post, eugene robinson and professor at theam and ronald reagan spoke of a wall. if there has to be a wall erected, doors that let people through, anybody that has the will and the desire to get here. tell us how different ronald reagan's speech was and his vision of america was in 1989 and where we are 30 years later with donald trump. >> it's kind of remarkable that the two men speak the same tongue. you know, it's tricky to -- i think that the speeches that were given in this week from the oval office and president reagan's were rendered in english today. reagan had many faults, we'll go ahead and stipulate that and we can move on. but he believed in this american openness, a kind of big heartedness, that for all of his faults and all of the nation's faults was about pressing ahead, moving west ward metaphorically and literally sometimes, and he absolutely believed as he said in the speech that it's just -- they're remarkable words written by our colleague, remarkable words that he said all the pilgrims from all the lost pla