joining us, former republican senator jeff flake of arizona. good to see you. >> good to see you. >> is it your view, is it your fear that it will be more of the same? i mean, the republican national committee just met last night and the chair, mcdaniel was unanimously re-elected to her position. president trump seems to still be the leader of that party. is it your view that very little will change after all of this? >> i think things will change. if this event has done anything, i think it did accelerate the movement away from the president and hopefully away from trumpism. this was cataclismic in terms of damage to a party. and whether the president is impeached or not, again, i hope that the house doesn't follow through with it. there's certainly not the time.

we're joined by jeff flake. thank you so much for taking the time this morning. >> thanks for having me on. >> you are among a small number of republicans, willing to go public with your criticism of president trump. you have the handful who votes to impeach him in the house and many more privately expressed that. ir want to play a question-and-answer who i put to adam kinzinger who is leading a charge for the new look of the republican party in the house and how he answered the question of whether he feel he still belongs in the party. have a listen. >> we stand an angry divisive party it is hard to consider the party, my values wouldn't have changed, it would be the party values. >> i wonder if you share that. if it remains trump's party, it is no longer the republican party that you championed. >> there is certainly no future with trumpism. it is a demographic cul-de-sac. i think nearly all of them recognize that. but they deal with the realty right now if they cross the president, they'll get a primary. i th

look at jeff flake.was a huge trump critic, and he realized he was not going to be able to get re-elected. it's because everyone is just telling them what they want to hear. look, we can't expect a huge, clean break. but what maybe we can hope for is a few republicans who are willing to just tell people what they honestly think. that's why i think the situation with liz cheney is both inspiring, what she's doing, but zoo depressing that she is no facing so much pressure to step down from her spot. liz cheney has shown that, look, you can say what you actually think. you can do the right thing. but now we've got people saying that the only person who should be punished from what happened on january 6th is liz cheney and not the president. we need a party that is willing to finally just tell people, you know, what they honestly think. do the right thing. it seems to basic, but all of the incentive structures are for people to just tell people what they want to hear. that's what happens every day. that's wh

former senator jeff flake, next.se folks, they don't have time to go to the post office they have businesses to grow customers to care for lives to get home to they use stamps.com print discounted postage for any letter any package any time right from your computer all the services of the post office plus ups only cheaper get our special tv offer a 4-week trial plus postage and a digital scale go to stamps.com/tv and never go to the post office again. >>> trump inspired the siege on our capitol, period. but he did not cause this trouble alone. 147 retrumplicans still went on to object to biden's electoral vote on no good-faith basis. they chose to lie and do exactly what fomented the attack that preceded their decision to do that. so where was the courage when it counted? former republican senator jeff flake joins me now. welcome back to "prime time." good to see you, senator. >> good to see you. >> so what is the message to your party about what remains? trump will be gone. he seems to have been scared into submissi

and a digital scale go to stamps.com/tv and never go to the post office again. >>> back now with jeff flake so, senator flake, over the weekend, you, cindy mccain, republican governor doug ducey, were publicly censured by the arizona gop. you tweeted you're just fine being on the outs. cindy mccain says she'll wear hers as a badge of honor. is there a purity test playing out? by the way, i had a hard time understanding this whole censure. you guys were being censured for telling the truth and standing up for -- it was odd. but anyway, is it a security test? >> it was odd. there was one provision that said i was being censured because i rejected populism. i thought that's what political parties were supposed to do. but anyway, it was a little tough to understand. but nobody likes to be censured by their party, but if the price to be liked by your party is to go along with the president and to condone his behavior, particularly after what happened on january 6th, then i'm just fine being censured. and i know that cindy mccain feels the same way as does doug ducey. yeah, there's a purity test

former senator jeff flake, next. about no no uh uh, no way come on, no no n-n-n-no-no only discover has no annual fee on any card. renew air volume mega mascara by l'oréal paris.? a whipped formula and a 'cushiony brush. for mega volume, yet mega light. new air volume mega mascara. by l'oréal paris. you're worth it. >>> trump inspired the siege on our capitol. period. but he did not cause this trouble alone. 147 retrumplicans still went on to object to biden's electoral vote on no good faith basis. they chose to lie and do exactly what fomented the attack that preceded their decision to do that. so where was the courage when it counted? former republican senator jeff flake joins me now. welcome back to "prime time." good to see you, senator. >> good to see you. >> so what is the message to your party about what remains? trump will be gone. he seems to have been scared into submission. but hawley, flake, legal experts -- not flake. cruz. you're like, what did i do? >> thank you. >> cruz and hawley standing up and maki

>> and jeff flake can speak to this very well. there are people of good will in both parties who understand that crises like these require cooperation. and he's targeting them. and he's trying to split off, you know -- he's trying to put together a coalition of the willing as it were in the congress to help him face this and other significant problems that he's taking on. and one of the advantages that joe biden brings to this white house is those 36 years in the senate. he understands how legislators think. he doesn't disdain their political concerns. we understands them, and he knows how to work across the aisle. whether he can penetrate the kind of manachian dynamic we have now in our politics remains to be seen. yesterday was a good start, but it's wise to bring party leaders of both -- leaders of both parties from the congress to the white house and engage them in discussions about how to move forward now. i think that it's totally appropriate and hopefully it will move things forward. >> how about that, senator flake. do you

jeff flake, he included a photo of himself along with cindy mccain as well as the governor saying, goodna republican governor ducey, who appeared at every trump campaign rally in 2020, but ultimately came at odds with the president when he certified arizona's election results, he was censured as well. this is an arizona republican party that has said, we are doubling down, and it is -- the onus is on the more moderate republicans to step in line with where the party is. the other angle to this, not only in arizona but the likes of georgia, is how does this impact where millions of dollars are funneled through? in arizona, just this last election cycle, more than $22 million went through the arizona republican party. essentially, they build up their ground operation, add advertisements. now i want to let you look at this tweet from the new political director and ally of doug ducey. he is the political director for the republican governors association. in a tweet this weekend said, with that the azgop will have no significant role in 2022. no other option but to work with others. no big d

go to adoreme.com. >>> back now with jeff flake and charlie dense.weekend you, cindy mccain and doug deuce si were censured by the gop. you said you're fine with being on the outs. cindy mccain said she'll wear her censure as a badge of honor. i had a hard time understanding this whole censure. you guys were being censured for telling the truth and standing -- it was up odd. anyway, go on. >> it was odd. there was one provision that said it was because i rejected populism. i thought that's what political parties were supposed to do. it was a little tough to understand. but nobody likes to be censured by their party, but if the price to be liked by your party is to go along with the president and to condone his behavior, particularly after what happened on january 6th, then i'm just fine being censured. and i know cindy mccain feels the same as does doug. he was -- they were upset at him because he certified the election in arizona. yeah. there's a purity test, and it just means that we're going to lose more elections going ahead unless we change. >>

former gop senator jeff flake posted all censored by the republican party simply with the caption, goodem wearing masks, they were at the inauguration of president biden last week. utah senator mitt romney on with chris wallace this morning said, well, donald trump no doubt will continue to have a future in the party, senator romney believes they'll be a shift in coming months and years and the former president may still have that impact as long as he's out of office, listen here. >> i think our party is going to return to some of our more fundamental principles which is fiscal responsibility, believing in the importance of contractor, standing with our allies and pushing back against people like kim jong un and vladimir putin. david: on top of that democratic senators that represent arizona, eric. eric: and mrs. mccain is feisty as her late husband, david, thank you. arthel. arthel: chinese government putting travel bans and business restrictions on more than 2 dozen of former trump officials and their families. it is largely symbolic rebuke to the ex-president, asia analyst gordon cha

jeff flake posted a picture of he, mrs.uguration last week, all censured by the republican party. he wrote simply the caption, good company. senator mitt romney on "fox news sunday" says he believes there will be a shift in the coming years the longer president trump is out of office. >> i think our party is going to return to some of our more fundamental principles, fiscal responsibility, believing in the importance of character and pushing back against people like kim jong un and vladimir putin. >> reporter: president biden beat former president trump in arizona by 10,500 votes. jon? jon: david spunt in washington. david, thank you. so ooh here to talk about president biden's first days in office, republican senator from tennessee, marsha blackburn. she is a member of the senate judiciary committee. senator, i want to start with something just hot off the presses, our john roberts tells us, this is a direct quote from trump adviser jason miller, he writes: the president -- now former president -- has made clear his goal i

former senator jeff flake posted a picture of he, mrs.ain, inducing wearing masks at the inauguration of joe biden with the caption good company. senator marco rubio, an ally of former president trump against his impeachment will leave the former president will have a place in the future of the republican party not just in arizona however, rubio hopes tobring people who don't necessarily donald trump to the gop. >> i hope we can do it in a way that teach the people we are fighting for them and bring back some of the people who did not vote for republicans were the president because they may not like the way it was said or the way it was done i think that is quite possible and i think that the future of the republican party. i think that the future of the country. >> in arizona were talking about the state of two democratic senators christensen emma and mark kelli. mike: david spunt live in washington, thank you. after being deployed to the capital following the events of dangerous existing for the inauguration many guard members have cont

told as we throw them out to you if we could confirm, looking at a piece in the washington post by jeff flakewho has gotten a lot of heat for being very establishment and opposing the president and many terms, he says with a biden era will feel like 6 months in, the world, where he still of a bizarrely unrecognizable and unreliable united states for the previous four years has begun to breathe a touch more easily, the daily rhythms of the new presidency have been established and governing as assumed the reassuring, and dignity befitting the world's indispensable nation. >> i think senator jeff flake, act as if he knows what joe biden will do as president. willoughby the joe biden who campaign as a moderate flipped when he said he would abolish all oil and gas in our country or is it going to be vice president harris, with a much more radical agenda? is a grassroots conservative supporter of donald trump i want america to succeed was i want to see joe biden moved to the middle. i hope all this prediction of him wanting to govern the country and unify everyone comes true. i'm incredibly skeptic

former senator jeff flake, thank you very much. >> thanks for having me on. >> remarkable words there from a republican. almost the entire house democratic caucus supports impeaching president trump but how do they persuade republicans who want to avoid an impeachment vote. i'm going to ask one member of congress. >>> plus what if rioters wanted to do more than just break into the capitol? perhaps kidnap a lawmaker. there are alarming clues. we'll have new details ahead into the investigation. >>> also remember, this is all happening in the middle of a tragedy on the health front. the coronavirus pandemic continues to overwhelm the nation. particularly california. cnn rides with an ambulance crew to see how they are helping the community while their protecting themselves. ive in a world of fe. airlines, hotels, food delivery, and especially car dealers all charge excessive, last-minute fees. when you want something badly enough, it feels like your only choice is to pay up. but what if you had a choice to take a stand instead? at carvana, we believe in treating you better. with zero hi

senator jeff flake.welcome, sir. >> hey, good to be here. >> why do you think mike pence is still so loyal? >> well, i mean, he has been unfailingly loyal for the past four years, and he's seen a reward for that. the president basically labeling him the enemy and joining up a mob to go to the capitol and go after. the fact that the president didn't call him to see if he was okay just blows me away and takes me back to -- i was on the baseball field when the shooter shot all of us and wounded steve ask a he's, and i remember just moments after it was over, i got a call from mike pence, the vice president, just checking to see if i was all right. >> you're all right. >> and a minute later from former president barack obama and then joe biden, and the notion that the president wouldn't call his vice president to see how he's going for days, it just blows me away but mike has been, like you said, unfailingly loyal. i was so glad to see him break with the president last wednesday in a big way and -- and that'

senator jeff flake. when you decided not to seek re-election, you famously said that you thought trump fever would soon break. that was in october of 2017. do you see any evidence of that yet? >> well, it's tough to say that there has been much breakage yet. i'm hopeful that it will. i think the president will lose influence the longer we go. but that will depend on other elected officials ignoring him and moving on and realizing that if we want to be relevant as a national party we've got to get beyond trump and trumpism. >> why do you think that they are still hitching their stock to trump so much? he lost the house in the midterms, then the white house and the senate, yet the republican party is still banking on him for the next round of midterms. he's not even on twitter anymore. he doesn't even have that sway. why does he still have so much influence? >> there's still concerned that with a phone call the president could still generate a primary for just about anybody. and that is still the case righ

joining me now is former arizona republican senator jeff flake, now a cnn commentator.nk you so much for coming on, senator flake. let's get right to this new reporting. you heard ryan allude to it right there. cnn has spoken to more than a dozen gop senators. it is becoming clear that republicans are likely to acquit trump. as the capitol attack gets more distanced, do you think a conviction looks less and less likely? >> i do. as long as you can rely on a constitutional argument that he's already out of office, impeachment is meant to remove somebody from office, it's easier for a republican to vote against. in the further distance you get from it, i think people say hey, why bother? he's already out. so, yeah, i think it will be difficult to get 17. >> it's interesting, because my colleagues, michael warren and jamie gangel are reporting a dozen influential republicans in washington that are quietly lobbying republican lawmakers to impeach and convict trump. their view is, look, if we do this, if you do this, then we don't have to worry about him running again the ne

senator jeff flake who's gotten a lot of heat for being very established and up opposing the presidente washington post," what the biden era will feel like six months in, bizarrely unrecognizable and unreliable united states in the previous four years has begun to breathe just a touch more easily. the daily rhythms of the new presidency has been established and governing has assumed to assure an reassuring calm and dignity with the world's indispensable nation, charlie, six months and on. >> i just think that senator jeff flake is acting as if he knows what joe biden will do as president. will it be the joe biden that campaigned as a moderate but flipped at times when he said he would abolish all oil and gas in the country or is it vice president harris with a much more radical agenda? as a grass-roots conservative supporter of president donald trump, i want america to succeed. i want joe biden to move to the middle. i hope all of this prediction him governing the whole country and unifying everybody comes true. i'm skeptical of that for good reason but i as a trump supporter hope for

the mccain faction is made up of cindy mccain, jeff flake and governor doug ducey, all three censuredt night. but the censure is merely just a symbolic step. it shows the state republican party in its official capacity is more the party of trump than mccain. the party nominee for president just 12 years ago. arizona gop if chairwoman kelly ward was narrowly reelected. governor doocy was close with president trump, but the foreman president believed governor ducey did not do enough to help him win arizona after he lost the state to find. the widow of the late senator john mccain tweeted: it is a high honor to be included in a group of arizonans who have served our state and nation so well and who have been censured by the arizona gop. i'll wear or this as a badge of honor. former senator jeff flake posted a picture at the inauguration last week all censured by the arizona republican party. he wrote simply the caption, good company. utah senator mitt romney on "fox news sunday" said he believes there will be a lift in the coming months and years, the longer president trump is out of off

i want to bring in former republican senator now cnn political commenter jeff flake.r joining us. the president is urging his supporters to -- he was urging his supporters before this riot developed to fight the election results. he directed them to march up to the capitol. he told them and i'm quoting now, we love you. you're very special. do you believe this amounts to an impeachable offense? >> yes. i believe it is. given the timing, i don't believe there's time for the house can do it quickly enough but for the senate to have a trial, i don't believe that will happen. my fear is that the house will impeach again. the senate won't indict. the president is already removed by office from that point and the president takes some badge of honor from this that this doesn't diminish him in the eyes of his supporters. where now i think he is quite diminished. i don't want the see this go forward. >> it's interesting, we're getting this in from kaitlan collins, our white house correspondent. i want your reaction. vice president mike pence will attend the inauguration of pre

the resolutions target cindy mccain, governor doug ducey and former senator jeff flake. widow of the late senator john mccain was targeted for endorsing joe biden's bid for presidency and for her support of gay marriage. i'm now joined by william crystal, the editor at large for bulwark and john farner from the george w. bush administration. these censures, they are mostly symbolic, but they are really showing that enough members of the arizona republican party are focused on enforcing loyalty apparently to trump. in the meantime, the former president is considering starting a third party. it's called the patriot party. what does it say about the future of the republican party right now? >> well, thank you for having me. i really appreciate it. i think the republicans have a good opportunity to reinvent themselves as a party of the future. and let's face it, if president trump wants to form his own political party, we welcome that. good luck to you. it's a chance for republicans to go back to their roots and for these censures in arizona, we commend what cindy mccain and

arizona has been -- is a border state and we've had our leadership like john mccain and jeff flake leada good position where senator kelly will get the message to the senate and move on immigration reform. they know how to bring people together. i'm confident that immediately i don't know and with our democratic senators, we are going to move immigration reform. and it's important that we do that because we need to make sure that we bring people out of the shadows, that we ensure that people who have been working in our country for so many years ensuring that we have food to making sure that we have -- that our -- that we have services in place and moving forward, that we do more comprehensive immigration reform. >> we're going to continue this conversation about immigration reform in our next hour. raquel, thank you so much for your time. next, a school shooting survivor now being harassed by a conspiracy theorist turned congresswoman here. and calls for congress to get involved. and the dog days are not over. meet major and champ biden who join the prestigious list of first pets. pres

jeff flake is out. and ducey says he doesn't want to run for the senate.nd the state party structures that are still hanging onto trump and a lot of other people who are not. so, you know, it may actually take another election where republicans lose before they come to their senses that this whole trump nialism where we're just against everybody else and we find scapegoat for everything that isn't going right. there's going to be a debate about whether republicans, pamela, can actually be for something. let me just make a point to you about this. if you're a political party or if you're anything and if you don't have any new ideas, you have no energy. now, i have very many disagreements with the progressives, but you know what gives them energy? they have ideas. if republicans only want to be against biden or against this or against that, there's no energy in that. they will not be able to win if they don't have energy with new ideas, which they seem to have lost their direction about. >> so, i mean, and you raise the point again, how would you describe wh

and as far as jeff flake, he tweeted a picture of himself, cindy mccain and the governor at joe biden'son with the caption, good company. alisyn? >> oh my gosh, what a look into how complicated the feelings are there in arizona. thank you very much. >>> so does former president trump's strangle hold on the republican party go beyond arizona? one man has the answer. cnn's senior political writer and analyst, harry enten. great to see you. >> nice to see you, alisyn. >> does president trump spr v a big hold over the republican gop? >> yes. number one sign, do they think joe biden was legitimately elected the president of the united states? overall 65% of americans say yes. but among republicans, look at this, 74% say, no, there was fraud. this is an easy litmus test to pass. we know there was no fraud. we know joe biden was legitimately elected, yet three quarters of republicans nationwide said that no, he was not legitimately elected. it was only because of fraud. that is nuts, alisyn. it's craziness. >> how are they feeling about the senate trial? >> yeah. so, i think this also gives yo

. >>> i want to bring in now former republican senator jeff flake. he's now a cnn political commentators. senator, thank you so much. i appreciate you joining us. what a day. some of your republican senate colleagues chaunged their mind after today but not all. what's your message to these dead enders? >> well, i would hope that, you know, the phone call to the secretary of state in georgia would have changed a few minds, and it may have. but certainly today a number of my colleagues said that that's enough. i wish that all of them had. i wish that nobody had challenged this election. as mitt romney said very eloquently on the floor, it's the responsibility of elected officials to sometimes tell the voters that they're wrong. it's courage. it takes courage to tell the truth sometimes. and the truth is joe biden won the election. and some people are having a hard time with that. i understand it. but they've got to get past it. >> what's interesting, i have seen some people pat lindsay graham on the back. one speech, i don't believe, absolves lindsay g

they voted to censure arizona governor doug ducey, former senator jeff flake and the widow of senator john mccain. all of them were openly opposed to former president trump's attempts to overturn the election results, but the center is merely a symbolic step today. utah senator mitt romney said he thinks there will be a shift in the republican party in the coming months. i think our party is going to return to some of our more fundamental principles, which is fiscal responsibility, believing in the importance of character standing with our allies and pushing it back against people like kim jong un and vladimir putin. president biden beat former president trump in arizona by. more than 10,000 votes, okay, we have some rain coming our way it starts really on tuesday night in tow. wednesday the day today was kind of wet this afternoon and then dried out, and we ended up with a pretty pretty are actually wet dry this morning and pretty well this afternoon. we end up with a pretty okay day but as we go into tomorrow, we're going to see mostly sunny all day with temperatures generally in th

we hear from former republican senator jeff flake about the civil war in his party.isjohnson warns that covid restrictions in england are "probably about to get tougher" — as the uk records another 50,000 new cases. could julian assange finally be heading to the us to face charges of espionage? ajudge in london is set to rule on his case on monday morning. and tributes to gerry marsden, the singer of ‘you'll never walk alone' who's died at the age of 78. a recording has emerged which appears to show president trump trying to persuade a senior republican official in georgia to "find" enough votes to overturn joe biden‘s victory in the state. the washington post says the audio is from an hour—long phone call with georgia's secretary of state, brad raffensperger. here's some of what mrtrump said. you can't let it happen and you are letting it happen. i'm notifying you that you're letting it happen. so look, all i want to do is this, i just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one of more than we have. because we won the state. lebo diseko is in washington and told us mor

we hear from former republican senator jeff flake about the civil war in his party.nother 50,000 new cases. could julian assange finally be heading to the us to face charges of espionage? ajudge in london is set to rule on his case on monday morning. and tributes to gerry marsden, the singer of ‘you'll

cindy mccain said she would wear her censure as a badge of honor and jeff flake tweeted a picture oflf, cindy mccain and joe biden with a caption of good company. kyung lah, cnn, scottsdale, arizona. >>> thanks for your company. "early start" is up next. have yourselves a wonderful day. robinhood believes now is the time to do money. without the commission fees so you can start investing today, wherever you are — even hanging with your dog. so, what are you waiting for? download now and get your first stock on us. robinhood. when you switch to xfinity mobile, you're choosing to get connected to the most reliable network nationwide, now with 5g included. discover how to save up to $300 a year with shared data starting at $15 a month, or get the lowest price for one line of unlimited. come into your local xfinity store to make the most of your mobile experience. you can shop the latest phones, bring your own device, or trade in for extra savings. stop in or book an appointment to shop safely with peace of mind at your local xfinity store. >>> welcome to our viewers in the united states

senator jeff flake and cindy mccain.ain and flake both endorsed president biden during the campaign for the governor was reprimanded for his orders during a pandemic. i'm jackie ibanez and now back to "the greg gutfeld show." greg: he tried to wipe it all away on his very first day. his first hours in office this week president biden signed 17 executive actions dana reversing several decisions made by president trump. you probably didn't hear this but it sounds like the start of the lico movie sequel but i can picture the billboard. executive action rolling back everything trump did. greg: some of the stuff rollback on wednesday includes antifa travel ban from countries with titan terror with titan terror concerns are joining the paris climate agreement and the world health organization, ending the keystone xl pipeline is dana mentioned 37 times and stopping construction of the border wall. i think there is one thing we can all agree on joe still has no idea what is funny but he is thinking about his nap in his favorite

how long do they stay on this path before as jeff flake puts it, normal, regular, rational people move away from the republican party? >> i don't have the answer to that, but i can tell you that the longer they hold on to donald trump, the longer they are in fear of donald trump. the longer they are complicit with donald trump. the longer they're going to let donald trump get away with abuses of power and crime that he committed while president, the longer this will last. there are regular people who watch state media who listen to their congresspeople, who trust their congresspeople, who absolutely believe these things. and so it becomes very difficult to argue with somebody that there is not a deep state being run by a bunch of celebrities and people who are molesting children. it sounds so insane, that it's almost difficult to argue against it. but, look, don, it's going to go on. this level of fringe is going to go on as long as republicans continue giving donald trump a pass and being in fear of him. he is controlling them right now. >> you know, nearly 10,000 republicans have req

namely, mitt romney, ben sasse, you know, jeff flake, and all the rest. dinesh, you nailed it, thanks so much. and a ragtag bunch of traders have broad hedge funds to their knees? now, could this permanent a change the stock market, and white as a matter? and governor andrew cuomo's covid malfeasance exposed big time, should he resign? i would take in moments. meet jeff. in his life, he's been to the bottom of the ocean. the tops of mountains. the er... twice. and all the places this guy runs off to. like jeff's, a life well lived should continue at home. home instead offers customized services from personal care to memory care, so older adults can stay home, stay safe, and stay happy. home instead. to us, it's personal. ♪ ♪ >> laura: hedge funds are freaking out. a group of investors decided to challenge them, and they were shorting a company, so those long forgotten businesses ended up seeing a dramatic rise in their stock. well, as the positions of the hedge fund started taking hits, well, they retaliated, along with a institutions that have long profi

they voted to censure republican governor doug dusey, former senator jeff flake, and cindy mccain, wifel three of them let it roll off their backs. cindy mccain calling it a badge of honor for serving her state and nation well. charlie, good to see you. what is this about, this censure? is it a temporary influence on the gop or is it something with real staying power? >> fred, i think this censure resolution of the three people, mccain, dusey and flake, is utterly meaningless and useless, and it's a reflection of the state committee, kelly ward, who is pretty good at losing. she ran for the senate twice and lost. they just lost two senate races out there. they're out there censuring people who actually won in arizona. it just tells you how absurd and how detached from reality some of these folks are. >> it's also an indicator, i guess, of the building blocks needed to bring the party back together? how herculean of a task is it going to be, in your view? >> clearly a lot of these state and local committees, republican committees, are going to need to be cleaned up. the fact that they ar

i mean, jeff flake, who you know very well, he said this week that he thinks that the fever is or willn be breaking with donald trump's influence. but today kevin mccarthy, the top republican in the house, he's in florida to meet with donald trump and all the reporting is in order to get back into his good graces. where is the evidence that you see to give -- i don't know, to have you looking at the glass half full here. i don't see any evidence of it. >> i do think that he's lost support. i think people, it's sinking in to them what he did not only while he was president, and many of his policies i supported, as you know. but what he did after the election, i think, is beginning to sink into people howry dick lus t -- ridiculous that was, what a nontruth that was, how he did, in fact, incite people to come to the capitol. but i think these 2020 elections in congress are going to have that fever in place. i think it's going to take a while -- on both sides of the aisle, so i do think it's going to be -- >> i'm going to see if our connection can hold on, and it looks like our connection

current republican leadership not people in the media or people who have been chased out, like jeff flake. congresswoman cory bush says she will introduce a resolution to expel house members who voted to overturn election votes. that's more than two-thirds of the house republican members. mo brooks, who directly incited the crowd. what do you think is the appropriate response to your colleagues who were involved one way or another? >> i support both representatives cory bush and tom malinowski for their efforts. incitement to insurrection is a federal crime. so anyone who incites insurrection should be charged and prosecuted. no one is above the law. i hope federal prosecutors and the fbi are looking at what some of these republican members of congress did to have january 6th happen. >> punch bowl is reporting that some house democrats are planning to blackball republicans who were involved in efforts to commit sedition or inciting the riot, refusing to co-sponsor bills with them, freeze out lobbyists contacted to them. is that appropriate, do you think? >> so, again, i think there should

t namely, mitt romney, ben sasse, you know, jeff flake, and all the rest. dinesh, you nailed it, thanks so much. and a ragtag bunch of traders have broad hedge funds to their knees? now, could this permanent a change the stock market, and why does it matter? and governor andrew cuomo's covid malfeasance exposed big time, should he resign? our take in moments. ♪es ♪ it's moving day. and while her friends are doing the heavy lifting, jess is busy moving her xfinity internet and tv services. it only takes about a minute. wait, a minute? but what have you been doing for the last two hours? delegating? oh, good one. move your xfinity services without breaking a sweat. now that's simple, easy, awesome. xfinity makes moving easy. go online to transfer your services in about a minute. get started today. ♪ ♪ >> laura: hedge funds are freaking out. >> laura: hedge funds are freaking out. a group of investors decided to challenge them, and they were shorting a company, so those long forgotten businesses ended up seeing a dramatic rise in their stock. well, as the posi

republican party as joe just pointed out, as party leaders wring their hands former arizona senator jeff flake spoke about his state deciding to censure him along with senator mccain's widow cindy. publicly stating that joe biden won the 2020 presidential election. here's more. >> well, if what it takes to stay in the good graces of the gop in arizona is to excuse the president's behavior, i'm just fine being on the out, and so i know that cindy mccain feels the same way. and the governor as well. so, yeah. nobody wants to be censured by their party, but the alternative is far worse. >> just to be clear, you systil consider yourself a republican? >> i do. i do. i hope our party can come back. i'm not one that says burn the party down. i want to rebuild the party into a, a party that believes in limited government, and economic freedom, individual responsibility. strong american leadership. we can win on that message, but we cannot win if we continue to condone the president's behavior and follow this, what really isn't a philosophy at all. more of an attitude, and it's just not, there's nothin

censured their incumbent republican governor as well as the widow of john mccain, former senator jeff flake. and they have done this for many years. oregon republican party has suggested that the events of january 6 at the capitol were some kind of a false flag event. hawaii republican party has talked about the idea that qanon supporters should be sympathized with, that their main motivation is some kind of a patriotism. and so it becomes clear if you look at what is happening at the more grass roots level at the republican party that getting people beyond the trumpism, the extremism that has marked this administration is going to be very difficult because it really stretches far beyond just the president and even his most vocal supporters. it is really something that has taken root at some of these very base levels of the republican party. and even these elected officials who are very active in the state republican parties. >> kurt, i want you to expand on this. the big question for a lot of folks, especially when you think about all the hard things that marjorie taylor greene has said, t

you have them throwing jeff flake, who isn't even a senator anymore, out. they're all beyond mad. what do you think those senators wind up doing to republicans and democrats? i'll start with you first, eugene. >> well, i mean,s i think you're absolutely right that some of these state party officials are literally afraid of their constituents. the republican party at the grassroots is a trump call to personality at this point, and the elected officials are still trying to deal with that. some of them are pandering to it, others are getting out of the party. they have a deal as to which party they've become, and this is something they need to work out over time. but in terms of the democrats, do reconciliation on the covid package, get it lou and then move to the next thing, you know? just move to the next thing. if it's got to pass with 50 votes plus kamala harris, do that and then move to the next thing. >> just do it. i wish i had more time, but we're out of time because, david, you have to come back, though, because i'm doing a whole segment on my former state and your state. be

censuring governor doug doocy, cindy mccain, the widow of senator john mccain and also former senator jeff flake, all opposed president trump's efforts to overturn the election and "the post" is reporting donald trump is tossing around the idea of starting his own political party. is this signal or noise? how much attention should we be paying to this very briefly? >> i think we should absolutely be paying attention because it highlights the fact the gop is in a shambles right now as you have people being censured, for doing what's right. it has to have lingering impacts well into and beyond the midterm elections. >> michael, before we go? >> the president wants to leave -- he has incited conspiracy theories and embraced conspiracy theories that cost us the georgia senate races, cost us the majority in the senate. if he wants to go his own way, he is more than welcome to do so. he will do whatever is in his personal, political, and financial interest. he has no loyalty to the republican party. >> juanita tolliver, jacqueline alamany, michael steel, we appreciate your analysis. thank you very muc

(crowd cheering) >> narrator: he rallied his base against their own senator jeff flake. >> they all said, "please, mr. president, don't mention any names." so i won't. i won't! >> it's about going back to the base, to demonstrate how popular it is to be with the president, particularly in jeff's own state. >> and nobody wants me to talk about your senator, who's weak on borders, weak on crime, so i won't talk about him. (crowd cheering) no, i will not mention any names. very presidential, isn't it? very presidential. >> when the president criticizes you, people back home are upset. they think that he's the supreme it, if you will, in the republican party. and therefore, if you're, if y'all are at odds or you're disagreeing, then, then it's not good for your health. >> narrator: trump put an end to flake's political career. >> i think he knew at that time that i was out of step with a lot of the republican base, that, that he represented more of their feelings than i did. >> we will make america great again. thank you, arizona, god bless you... >> he wielded er over republicans. a lot of

three prominent gop members over the weekend they include the governor, doug ducey, former senator jeff flake and cindy mccain, senator john mccain's widow ducey censured for putting in covid restrictions flake and mccain's censure was for failing to support the former president >>> this morning, sarah sanders announced she will run for governor of arkansas she served as press secretary and has been a loyal ally of the former president sanders says she's running to oppose what she calls the radical left >>> nbc news chief washington correspondent hallie jackson on our top story at the bottom of the hour let's start with the news from senator portman. what exactly does this exit say about the state of the party right now? >> reporter: well, it says that the state of the party, shep, is that it is largely still a party led by former president trump, right? rob portman is somebody, is an ohio senator who is not considered super moderate but he did sometimes vote with democrats, but h largely voted along party lines. that said he was uncomfortable, as you noted in his statement, he was uncomforta

along with cindy mccain and former senator jeff flake, censured for endorsing joe biden.t some of the nonsense. let's discuss. ayesha, when you look at this as a whole, what do you think it says about the future of the republican party? >> it says that the republican party has been using the energy that they get from these conspiracy theorists, willing to kind of house and, at times, wink and nod at these people who are espousing these really outrageous, you know, lies about the electoral process and kabals of child cannibals. as we saw with the attack on the capitol, those types of lies have consequences. and you can't wink and nod at this stuff and think that, yes, it gives people riled. it might get them to the polls but it also gets violence. that is the part that doesn't seem like the republican party really has this under control, and you see that in all of these state parties, really just talking about these outrageous ideas. and it's not clear how that gets under control if you don't have members of the republican party, leaders of the republican party actively re

mccain, their own governor ducey, who's been a trump sycophant the whole time, and throwing out jeff flake, who's not even in power anymore. so what? you're right, right now we are seeing a search for heretics rather than a search for justice. i wonder if you think the real fear here is that trump will make good on the threat to start another party and that's what they're more concerned about, that if they don't keep sucking up to him, he'll just start another party and take all of their voters away? >> there's been a lot of muscle memory being afraid of donald trump but i don't see the reason why he would create a new party. he has a new party. he owns it lock, stom and barrel and we are seeing the party sticking with him despite the fact he's defeated, disgraced, twice impeached and incited this insurrection. if that's not enough, what would be? what does he need a new party for? he has kelly ward in arizona. look where we're going here. you're having a lot of the mainstream republicans saying we just can't take anymore. pat toomey is leave egg the leaving the senate, richard burr, and y