jeff flake can speak to that.was no coincidence that one in the seven -- and seven was a huge number, but only one of them is up for re-election in 2022, lease au murkowski. two of them were retiring. so, you know, there was -- there was fear. and he knew where his caucus was going, and he would have created tremendous problems for him if he had done it. that said, if he felt as passionately as he did, and as he reflected in his words, you know, it's clearly the constitutional argument was kind of an off ramp for him to try and not get sideways with his caucus. >> democrats say senator mcconnell conceded that they proved their case. is that what you heard as an attorney? >> yeah. he didn't go quite that far. he got pretty close. i mean, we heard him. he condemned former president trump. he held him responsible. he did hedge a little bit in terms of whether the exact, you know, standard that was sort of spelled out in the articles of impeachment was met. but he did come very close. but in the end, he said it didn't

and also with us is cnn political commentator and former republican senator from arizona jeff flake. ly the hot topic right now of course in the wake of the vote yesterday. and senator flake, i want to ask you. moderate republicans, as you just heard senator cassidy there, insist that the party is ready to move on from trump. so why isn't that actually happening? >> well, i'm with cassidy. it simply has to. we have no choice. we're headed down a demographic cult k cul-de-sac if we don't. we lost the house and the senate. we have to move on. it's difficult because the president's base is still there, but we have to move on. >> and what if you don't? what if it just is the party of trump? >> well, we'll just continue to lose seats. we'll continue to be, frankly, a permanent minority if we continue. so we have to. we should want to as well. i mean, look at what has happened since the last election. the president lost the election. then used every lever at his disposal to hang on to the white house. we saw what resulted on january 6th. >> it is interesting because both of you have in one

jeff flake and charlie dent. thank you both, gentlemen, for being with us tonight. >> thank you. >> good to be with you, chris. >> so, senator flake, haven't talked to but this yet. what are you hearing from your former brothers and sisters on the right about what they think about what they're a part of right now? >> well, i can tell you the prosecution was much more -- i mean it was much more moving than i expected. i thought that i'd seen all the footage. i thought that i knew where i was. obviously, you know, i thought that the president ought to be convicted before. but, boy, this -- the show that they put on in the last three days was incredibly gripping and moving, and i can tell you my former colleagues couldn't help but be moved. i think you saw that mostly yesterday where new footage came up, and i think they realized for the first time, some of them, how close they really were and the timeline, knowing what the president did and what he didn't do right in the midst of it all, particularly going after th

with guys like jeff flake and me, at times, there were just too few of us speaking up. but when you hear powerful ful voices like liz cheney, peter meyer and others, i feel much better that there is a force that's pushing back. and we need to grow that force. and we will further diminish donald trump. >> you know, the interesting aspect of this, senator flake, is that the men and women who are seeking to protect, in likelihood, donald trump, were not protected by him. that mob came looking for them. and they know that trump was aware of what was going on. kevin mccarthy called him, asking for help and he pushed back, he didn't want to do it. he wanted to just slow down the proceeding. i mean, what does it mean that they would seek to protect him from not protecting them? >> yeah, that -- that's what's just unbelievable. it really is. but it's not just donald trump they're afraid of. he is a diminished figure, but that base is still there, and i can tell you the calculation that many of my former colleagues make. they feel they've already angered one side, the side that

former republican senator jeff flake is with me now.g that jim didn't say that i'm going to say that cnn had confirmed with sources that trump in this letter initially wanted to say that mcconnell, and i quote, had more chins than he did brain, but it was removed before it was issued. your reaction to all of this? >> well, that would be consistent with other things he's said about a lot of us, but i want to confirm what jim said about the president having no influence at all in, you know, the republican caucus in the senate. there's -- there's never been any real love for the president. there's been fear of the president's control of the base, but that is ebbing certainly very fast now, and, you know, don't bet against mitch mcconnell, and when you're looking at senate races coming up, the last thing republicans need is for donald trump to weigh in. >> listen, i hear you, and mitch mcconnell is a guy with a job if you're comparing the two, right. he's a guy with a twitter handle. he can actually do press. trump released this statement w

plain and simple. >> let me give jeff flake the final word.ahead. >> no, there's nothing to be gained from doing this pil pilgrimage. i don't think the president will be redeemed particularly after what happened on january 6th, and since the election happened. we can stop humiliating ourselves by going down there, and i hope we stop. >> thank you very much for joining us. >>> just ahead, more associates of the oath keepers are charged in connection with the capitol riot. we'll be right back. my plaque psoriasis... ...the itching ...the burning. the stinging. my skin was no longer mine. my psoriatic arthritis, made my joints stiff, swollen... painful. emerge tremfyant™ with tremfya®, adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis... ...can uncover clearer skin and improve symptoms at 16 weeks. tremfya® is also approved for adults with active psoriatic arthritis. serious allergic reactions may occur. tremfya® may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms or if yo

some the conservatives -- jeff flake voted for joe biden. a number of legislators voted for joe biden. they can't be divided if you're the longer part of the party. host: one of the things we do have to acknowledge, at amy: -- host: at least eight that will vote and they will have a straw for those. who are you watching besides former president,? guest: i mentioned rubio is not speaking at the moment. josh hawley spoke yesterday. the former secretary of state and kristi noem. i went caution there is not a presidential primary for two more years. you don't have the same rundown. there is a straw poll for members of the congress. it will be interesting to watch. trump will win it. i am curious who else gets any balance and who will make a big play and spend a lot of money to bring people in, even though it is very unscientific. host: one thing are -- we are seeing is conservatives attacking republicans. donald trump, jr. spoke at cpac. >> can be seamless liz cheney's poll numbers? the one thing i will say is i am sure she has a lot of bipartis

jeff flake writes this, there is no redeeming his behavior.tinue this tragic charade by fuelly humiliating and debasing ourselves, let's learn the lessons of this experience and admit our failings and move on. now senator flake is with me to discuss. good morning. >> good morning, poppy, how are you? >> i'm okay. for you, it is got to be hard to see your party going through this. and i wonder if you think that this now fight between the former president and mitch mcconnell and the nasty words from the former president to mcconnell, if it is seriously c crippling your party when it comes to 2022 and 2024. >> it certainly has the potential to. but frankly i think that the president's influence is waning. it has already. and i think mitch mcconnell understood what happened in georgia and felt burned by it. as did i think all republicans. the president in pursuing his conspiracy theories about the election, wasn't able to help with those races there and we lost both of them. so i think looking forward to 2022, mitch mcconnell and other republicans

. >> i was talking to jeff flake yesterday on tv, former republican senator.me basically, brooke, there's never been love for donald trump, but there's been this real palpable fear of trump's control of the base. he says that's ebbing fast. don't bet against mitch mcconnell when you're looking at senate races coming up. obviously the lindsey grahams of the world who believe donald trump is winning, winning, winning, would disagree. what are you hearing? >> well, we just don't know the answer to that yet. if you talk to folks like flake, he's going to say, yeah, trump's influence is ebbing because really that's what he wants and that's what he hopes will occur. i think that's the bet that mitch mcconnell is obviously making. he's making the bet that the republican party can be restored somewhat to what it was before it became the cult of personality about donald trump. and he's going to try and make sure that happens. he doesn't really care if trump tweets about him or makes him the enemy. he just feels that they need to get things back under control and they n

what do you say to former senator jeff flake there?hat trump is not, that is not going away. >> well, you know, trumpism is whatever trump does, trump has been, was very successful. and what did he do, liz? he adopted the conservative republican agenda. you know, you cut taxes, you get rid of foreign policy issues like treaty with iran and you move the american embassy in israel to jerusalem, and a whole bunch of those things. and they helped trump a lot and will continue to. but remember, remember what went wrong particularly in the last, the months of his campaign. he didn't have an agenda that he talked about for a second term. he was just not a very good candidate. we know he can be one but he wasn't then. i think trump thought that the only person he needs to take advice from is himself and the truth is, there are some people that can help him. elizabeth: yeah. it is interesting that is going to change. listen to senator john kennedy's take what happened today rather is happening with senate impeachment. watch this. >> the preside

so no matter how often jeff flake or the sleepy lincoln project drifters appear on msnbc, we ain't going back to republicanism. no more support for open borders, no more blank checks for endless wars, no more putting china and multinational corporations first. never again. that version of the gop is finished. with much of the old establishment on the sidelines though, the gop is free now to represent its voters. that's a new concept. that means aggressively advancing a pro growth anti-lockdown agenda that puts american families first. now, what is most important issue right now that will help our country and grow our movement? we have talked about this i think all of us together what now? ten months? opening schools. the democrats' stance or reopening schools is anti-science and just plain evil at this point. it once in all proves that democrats don't give a rip about children that don't have the opportunity to attend private academies. if you ever doubted that democrats are just puppets of the teacher's union? you didn't trust this show. you should have. but now you know the ugly truth.

arizona republicans, who passed resolutions in january censuring governor doug ducey, former senator jeff flakeand cindy mccain, john mccain's widow, for opposing or defying trump. meanwhile, oregon republicans passed a resolution in january condemning the 10 republican congressmembers who voted to impeach trump, calling the insurrection a "false flag" operation. trump's second impeachment trial begins tomorrow. in new york, a judge ruled friday republican trump ally claudia tenney won her house race against democrat anthony brindisi, claiming the last open house seat. tenney regained the seat, which she lost in 2018, with a margin of just 109 votes. the brindisi campaign signaled they may challenge the results. democrats have 221 seats while republicans have 112 seats now with tenney's win. in burma, police fired water cannons on peaceful protesters in yangon as mass demonstrations continued today for the third straight day, opposing the military coup that deposed de facto leader aung san suu kyi one week ago. >> we cannot just let the military win. citizens have shown up on the streets to sho

resist its embrace of the former president, let's get the bottom line and former republican senator, jeff flake. i suspect you share this sentiment of congressman kinzinger. but my real question is what actual evidence have you seen in the last few weeks that this is working? because marjorie taylor green had a phone call with the former president and kevin mccarthy is having a hard time to get together toed a monish her. so what evidence do you see that where you want to push the republican party is where it wants to go. >> i am pleased with what adam is doing. he's on the right track, definitely. we republicans in our heart of hearts know that there is no future with trumpism. it's been difficult to break with donald trump for many of my former colleagues. it will be less deficit to break with marjorie taylor green. there is simply no way that my former colleagues can count the behavior she has exhibited and the conspiracy theories that she still espouses and refuses to apologize. i think some action, probably removal from committees there. there is little evidence so far republicans will mov

after president biden won last fall, she called susan collins the worst, former gop arizona senator jeff flakence. she dubs mitch mcconnell baltimore it, she couldn't just target republicans, but russia did a lot more to help bernie than the dnc's random internal emails it to help. you call senator sanders everything but in a parent -- >> i must have meant them but i really regret them. >> reporter: her cleanup on aisle 5 didn't help. susan collins -- the decision to delete so many tweets raises concerns about her commitment to transparency. her twitter tantrums were too much for democrats west virginia senator joe manchin. >> the public statement makes this a challenge. we need to find support on the republican side. >> reporter: it always comes down to the math. the senate with 50/50. with manchin defecting they need help from the other side. the questions about the qualifications, the administration isn't budging. >> the president nominated her because he believes she would be a director who is tested, leaving policies, roll up her sleeves and do the work. >> reporter: with collins and mitt

flake. he is now a cnn political commentator. you know, jeff, i want to begin with the disarray on full display within the republican party right now. one top republican senator sees its as a choice between conservative principals and conspiracy theories. liz cheney margery taylor green? i mean, where do you think the party will likely grow more or where do i want to be as an elected official. it is pretty stark. that's what republicans are facing right now. >> what do you think, gloria? what is the house minority leader kevin mccarthy really considering as he prepares to meet, we're told, very soon with congresswoman margery taylor green. >> i think first of all he is considering his own political future because he would like to become speaker of the house and he's got to figure out a way to do that. one of the people he needs, he believes, to help him do that is donald trump who has embraced margery taylor green, spoke with her recently. she tweeted about a great conversation. he has to, as you were saying earlier, he has to figure out a way

sasse, arizona, they first tweeted out a call for martyrdom on behalf of donald trump, and censured jeff flake cindy mccain. and a member of the party in wyoming is talking about secession. the republican party has become a radicalized cult, and there are a lot of republican members of the house that may not like that, but they're accountable to their voters. >> and, you know, you would know that first-hand, kurt. you've dealt with breitbart up close. and isn't michelle right? you worked on house staff. if she doesn't have any committee assignments, what will she do all day but troll? people like ben sasse saying you're not supposed to worship one dude, he voted with trump 84%. kinsinger, 90.2%. they've all been loyal to trump's legislation, but you have to be 100% loyal or else the base hates you. >> i mean, listen. if the voters of the republican party actually cared about tangible results, we would have a very different country right now. listen, we have how many hundreds of thousands of americans dead from the coronavirus, how many americans out of work and struggling, who didn't benefit f

you look at floyd upton or tom rice or me or liz cheney or jeff flake, cindy mccain, all the people getting censured right now. we need a squeeze, we need information at the grassroots level and at the top. if we can squeeze from both sides, we might have a chance, but again, whatever we do as a faction of the party, we better come to a decision of truth and we better have the power to defend it. >> it sounds like you have a unified message, but listen to senator lindsey graham today talk about trump and leadership of the party. >> you still believe president trump is the best face for the republican party? yes or no? >> i think he's -- yeah, i think donald trump's policies served the country well. i think donald trump has to rehabilitate himself as a politician. >> so, charlie, senator graham says trump is still the leader of the party. he's still hugely popular. so how do you work with that? >> well, i would respectfully disagree. look, trump lost. he lost resoundingly while republicans down ballot won in this last election. we lost the house and we lost the senate under president trump.

former gop arizona senator jeff flake was ignorant and she dumbed mitch mcconnell voldimort.alled senator sanders everything but an ignorant slut. >> i must have met them but i regret them. >> susan collins is now a no. the maine remember says her decision to delete so many tweets raises concerns about her commitment to transparency. her twitter tantrums were too much for joe manchin who is also a no. >> senator manchin's public statement makes this a challenge. we have to find support on the republican side. >> it always comes down to the math. the senate split 50/50, democrats need help from the other side. there's questions about her callifications but the administration is not budging. >> the president nominated her because she would be a stellar director. she's rolled up her sleeves and done the work. >> with collins a no coupled with mitt romney, could lack the votes for confirmation. the nays mean it could face the equivalent of deletion. >> shannon: well, good news before we said goo night. a restaurant in texas giving out 500 free meals. the restaurant didn't have el

but we hear. from the likes of jeff flake, former from the likes ofjeff flake, former arizona senator72213 _ the house republicans went from 1972213 on election day —— 197 two 213. republicans were succumbing to close to _ 213. republicans were succumbing to close to a _ 213. republicans were succumbing to close to a majority. it wasn't a repudiation of the republican party but it— repudiation of the republican party but it was— repudiation of the republican party but it was of donald trump. i certainly— but it was of donald trump. i certainly don't think he understands that or— certainly don't think he understands that or will— certainly don't think he understands that or will admit it. what this trial— that or will admit it. what this trial will— that or will admit it. what this trial will do is because both sides to go— trial will do is because both sides to go back— trial will do is because both sides to go back into their bunkers, and the consequence is a nation that's even _ the consequence is a nation that's even more — the consequence is a nation that's even more polarised tha

senator jeff flake said that would be a path to a permanent minority for the g.o.p. >> i said mr.sident this maga movement needs to continue. we need to unit the party. trump plus is the way back in 2022. >> senator graham also backed trump's daughter-in-law laura trump for a senator seat in north carolina being vacated in 2022 by richard burr who voted to convict president trump and whose state party will meet at 8:00 p.m. tonight to censure him. the g.o.p. chair tells cnbc he expects 11 more counties to join those efforts. he believes the vote to convict by toomey is a punitive action by those with establishment political objectives the establishment's leader er h mcconnell is trying to walk a tight rope on this one he voted to acquit, but he said in no uncertain terms he believe trump incited the problem. >> he's getting some backlash himself for saying those things. >>> nancy pelosi wants a 9/11 style commission to look into that insurrection at the u.s. capitol. she plans to take steps to form a panel to investigate and report on the facts and causes relating to the assault.

. >> as you know, jeff flake, >>> it normalizes them and gives them an entry in to politics. women, they will make a lot of money from being congress women. and that will generate more money for qanon, it's a deceptive circle, and people at the top are making a lot of money. >> again, these are, the lies, the conspiracy theories are ant semitic tropes that have been around for centuries for some cases. the idea that it's a new form of a very old racist, aren't semitic game and that they are profiting from it is sickening. >> it boggles the mind, because it's become popular among evangelicals. i don't understand why 27% of evang evangelicals are supporting had the. what they have managed to do is gain the different kind of algorithm on facebook and as a result, they have pulled in people from the right and left. people who believe in essential oils. people who are vegans who are enthusiastic about yoga. right now, we have a crazy amalgamation of theories. right now, q is a meta conspiracy, that has all the others in it. >> if you search for interesting yoga and it leads you in

jeff flake left. rob portman is leaving. it does seem like there's less and less excitement for the fundamental sort of values of being a republican. at least within the party these days. is the party really as excited about small government, about debt reduction, about globalization issues, about being hawkish on foreign policy. it doesn't -- i mean, with the marjorie taylor greene thing it doesn't seem like that's what excites a lot of the party anymore. >> absolutely, poppy. what i noticed during my time and what frustrated me so much, because of donald trump and this whole cult of personality, and i said it at the time. the party head become about a loyalty test to one man rather than to a given set of principles or ideals. and because of donald trump's outsized presence, he prevented us from having these robust policy discussions about what the party should be. where we should stand on the issues. and really we're now dealing with a hangover from all of this because we're having to deal with the aftermath of the insurre

joining us right now, former republican senator jeff flake, cnn contributor, former impeachment counsel for democrats, norm eisen and kaitlan kcollins is back with u as well. norm, as you know, they say the next step is to establish a 9/11-style commission of inquiry to investigate the january 6th attack. what unanswered questions, from your perspective, need to be investigated? >> wolf, thanks for having me back. the biggest, unanswered question, we have some of the evidence, is exactly what did president trump do and fail to do on that fateful day of january 6th? a lot of that evidence came in. enough, in my view and the view of 57 senators, to convict him of inciting insurrection. there's so much more to be learned, from the secret service, from those who were in the white house and from the pentagon and how president trump may have held them back. who else was culpable for this? and then so much more about what came beforehand, president trump's incitement and his henchmen and women, wolf, those who spread this furious, baseless lie that drove the flames of insurrection that the ele

the brain trust decided to censure jeff flake, cindy mccain. and so, they are shrinking their party. many of these people are -- are more concerned about, you know, excommunicating heretics than they were about winning over converts. i have been censured, i should say, once over marriage equality because i supported it. once, over not being supportive of trump enough. they said i was too hostile. i mean, who cares? i mean, these people are irrelevant. you know, they -- they think that, somehow, they are going to grow this party, by embracing a disgraced, twice-impeached, loser. he lost. he lost. and why do they think this is going to help? you know, he cost them the senate. he cost them the house. so, why don't they double down on defeat? i mean, this makes absolutely no sense. i'm sure pat toomey's going to get his -- he's going to get his knuckles wrapped for his vote, and all the rest of them are, too. but it just shows you how -- how detached from reality, many of these state and local-gop committees are today in america. >> it's really emb

play a prominent role in party politics going forward never trumpers like former arizona senator jeff flake said that would be a path to a permanent majority for the gop but loyalists are embracing his halo effect and trying to get trump back into the fray. >> i said mr. president, this maga movement needs to continue. we need to unite the party trump plus is the way back in 2022 >> senator graham also backed trump's daughter-in-law laura trump for a senate seat in north carolina being vacated in 2022 by richard burr who voted to convict president trump and whose state party will meet at 8:00 p.m. to censure him in pennsylvania where five counties have censured senator pat toomey he expects 11 more counties to join those efforts his organization believes the vote to convict by toomey who's also retiring next year is a punitive action by those with establishment political objectives the establishment leader, top republican senator mitch mcconnell is trying to lock a delicate tight rope on this one. he voted to acquit but he's also said in no uncertain terms that he believes mr. trump incited

it includes cindy mccain, jeff flake. those two are interesting because both are from arizona.s a state he flipped. it will be crucial. this sends a signal to the world and that is part bipartisan ship is back. it's a way to send messages to allies and partners across the country that america speaks with one voice. look, we have republicans inside the administration. you will recall the former governor from utah was obama's pick to china. this isn't without precedent. now, this certainly isn't done. and i know you probably talked to a lot of biden donors like i do. many keep saying we hear ambassadors are coming this week. and the donors think it's just around the corner. biden officials say slow down. we're taking our time on this. >> certainly the president has put other things first as priorities. hans, he takes his first official trips and hops on the big air force one. >> he will be on the big bird heading to wisconsin for a townhall, talking directly to voters. this is part of the outside-in game. what biden wants to do is support his 1.9 trillion rescue plan. he will tal

yesterday less than two weeks after arizona's gop voted to censure john mccain's widow, former senator jeff flake the current governor, the wyoming gop voted to censure liz cheney, the third-ranking in the house gop leadership for accepting reality and voting to impeach the failed former president. and the nebraska gop is set to vote to censure republican senator ben sasse for having the gal to criticized former failed president. what was that republicans were saying about free speech, about being silenced and muzzled. the resolution the wyoming republican party put forth is filled with lies and conspiracy fiction such as the siege of the capitol being instigated by antifa and blm radicals. in another statement devoid of reality, one of the individuals backing the measure said we need to honor president trump. the republican party needs to put her, meaning liz cheney, on notice. he has that entirely wrong. it's his dear leader donald who has been put on notice. his second impeachment trial starts in two days. >>> joining me now kimberly atkins. the co-host of the sisters-in-law podcast. the best-

doug ducey of arizona was censured by his state's gop along with cindy mccain and former senator jeff flakeor endorsing joe biden. they are all pictured at joe biden's inauguration. ducey certified president biden's win in arizona despite harsh public criticism from president trump. joining me now is the republican governor of arizona, doug ducey. governor, thank you so much for joining me. i want to show our viewers a cartoon that cindy mccain posted online showing the republican party punishing the three of you for, quote, a grotesque display of basic integrity. is that what you're guilty of here, integrity? >> well, thanks for having me, dana. i want to say this is an action of very little consequence. the party in arizona has had a long history of discontent. this is just the latest example. i think that the state party chairman should focus on winning races. that should be a top priority. i believe i was in good company in that cartoon, and i also want to say i worked incredibly hard to deliver the state for donald trump and red up through election day. and then after election day of c

episodes and each one having 10 or 20 three up lies that mitt romney told during the 2012 election and jeff flake, the never trump that never run again, if you read his book conscience of a conservative he pines for the days when you could basically mexican men would come across the border and you could exploit them as cheap labor and they never brought their families . >> it seems going back to 2012 even with mittromney , these joined the cpac and describing himself as rarely conservative so it's always been there. >> there's been extradition with an american liberal has domesticated the last generation but let's talk about liz cheney. she's the face of this attempt to kind of redeem republican conservatism that non- trump as opposed to trump. what's a bigger conspiracy theory when it comes to respect in the world, is it q-anon or the idea that saddam hussein had weapons of mass destruction? there's 1 million corpses behind that one and the destruction of american foreign policy so we seen a ratcheting to the right even if the cheney wing wins. but like nikki said, there is no structure within o

i'm thinking of also senator ben sasse, former senator jeff flake. -- is not who we are, it's not who we should be and we need to push him aside if we're going to lead this country in the future? >> double fingers crossed. we hope so. here's what concerns me, though. i do think at a national level we will start to see more and more republicans like the ones that you mentioned. and i have to highlight my dear friend, liz cheney, who have taken some really aggressive and patriotic stands. what concerns me more, though, jonathan, is the fact that on the state level, all these republican parties, the second someone says something bad about donald trump or doesn't vote for donald trump, they immediately get together, call an emergency meeting and chastise that person. i don't know how we get the republican party back at the grassroots and how long that's going to take. that concerns me even more than when steve scalise hedges on who is the duly elected president right now, with regard to the future of the republican party. >> and donna edwards, the republ

it's a belief echoed by former arizona senator jeff flake, who writes in a new op-ed about the need forld have. but we didn't. let's not compound the grievous injury to the country and our party by continuing to embrace him. for trumpism is the opposite of conservatism. we all know that too. there is nothing to gain by making a pilgrimage to florida. there is no enlightened mystic at mar-a-lago, just a diminished man who lost an election and couldn't accept it. there is no redeeming his behavior, and let's not continue this tragic charade by further humiliating and debasing ourselves." a fractured republican party is where we start this hour with some of our favorite reporters and friends. "washington post" contributing columnist, former congresswoman donna edwards is back. also joining us, sam stein, politico white house editor and charlie sykes, it editor at large at the bulwark. we have breaking news to get to and charlie sykes, i don't revel in the circular firing squad that has become the gop, but i can say that those of us who jumped off the gop train in 2015, when donald trump to

some the conservatives -- jeff flake voted for joe biden. number of legislators voted for joe biden. they can't be divided if you're the longer part of the party. host: one of the things we do have to acknowledge, at amy: -- host: at least eight that will vote and they will have a straw for those. who are you watching besides former president,? guest: i mentioned rubio is not speaking at the moment. josh hawley spoke yesterday. the former secretary of state and kristi noem. i went caution there is not a presidential primary for two more years. you don't have the same rundown. there is a straw poll for members of the congress. it will be interesting to watch. trump will win it. i am curious who else gets any balance and who will make a big play and spend a lot of money to bring people in, even though it is very unscientific. host: one thing are -- we are seeing is conservatives attacking republicans. donald trump, jr. spoke at cpac. >> can be seamless liz cheney's poll numbers? the one thing i will say is i am sure she has a lot of bipartisan

jeff flake wing of the party would run to hide in an elevator. we don't want to go back to that.me you got to take the whole package. i think president trump has a great opportunity to focus on the policies that made america a stronger country, great country, economically on fire. maybe tone down some of the things that caused some of those suburbanites and other people to maybe not be so fond of him. i like him. i like his personality. i like the authenticity. a lot of people don't. his personality is not my personality but, it's who he is and i respect that. stuart: i predict massive tv ratings across the board. >> yes. stuart: must-see tv. i hope your ratings are just as good on saturday night, governor. i hope you get 10 or 20 million people watch good stuff. >> only because my daughter is with me. her ratings will be good. mind, i don't know. we'll see. stuart: you're an honest man, governor appreciate it. see you soon. >> thank you, stu. stuart: back to the markets. we have movement here. the dow is down over 100 points. but we got the nasdaq sinking back down again, down 1

stuart: let's change the subject, look at what jeff flake is saying about donald trump.pis am requires a certain amount of swagger that you lose when you lose, and he lost. do you think donald trump is going to fade away? liz: no and what he's talking about, he comes from the perspective of an anti-trumper. when i look at people who sit in the middle of the road on the fence and they are just watching the political trends, the washington dc paper, magazine, talking about trump is biding his time, monitoring the situation keeping a low profile and political reporting trump is planning a reemergence after the try was over, they are confident he's going to be acquitted, that he has connection to grassroots still and they can fire up his base still. even without twitter he can get his message out. it will be interesting to see how he does that was the opposition against him is going to be from super pac like the lincoln project which is going to go after now, us companies that show any indication they support donald trump. you see bill kristol's funding of his finance pack t

we used to work with john mccain, jeff flake, jim colby, many who thought the republican party needede for diverse voters and reach out for an american majority who once change -- who wants change. it was about -- the last four years were about immigrants, deporting and detaining them. the good news from our point of view was trump's demonization of immigrants backfired. we have seen through al up -- gallup there has never been more support in america for immigrants. they forced america decide, are we going to be a welcoming nation are not? by strong majority the nation decided to be a welcoming country. building -- ending the muslim ban, popular, restoring fairness to our asylum system, popular. the wind is at the back of biden and the democrats. while the republicans speak to a cul-de-sac of a white grievance base, they continue to bleed suburban voters. host: tim is on the line for independents. caller: it is a good segue for me playing mr. thune's commentary. my question is, coming off of what you just said, my question is what is your -- once your policies are in effect and we ar

least publicly, white supremacists, racist, conspiracy the theorists and pushing out those like jeff flake, richard haas and others. >> mitt romneys, liz cheneys of the world. >> exactly. there is this battle going on, but it's just astounding to me that more republicans aren't there with liz cheney and adam kinzinger, fighting for their party. >> we've had so many discussions about why is it so hard to say we don't want these people? >> right. >> it should be ease toy wall off the mainstream republican party from the fringe elements but it seems that that is something they're unwilling to do and it's in part because, as the impeachment managers lay out, donald trump cultivated these people for years. not just over the last six months. we could go back to charlottesville, when many of the same individuals were involved in that rally and that riot that happened down there, that left a person dead. so, that's part of the case here, which is that -- and you saw them literally, the impeachment managers, showing pictures of individuals who were from the proud boys after the president said "stan

and a lot of the people that might have backed him up, senators like bob corker, jeff flake, rob portman is now retiring. we will see what he has to say about this today. they are gone because there was no one standing up for them or backing them up during the trump administration itself when so many republicans refused to criticize president trump as we saw one action after another that slowly slid us down to the capitol riot territory. and this misinformation has been allowed to go unchecked online. and mitch mcconnell is now looking at that and saying, if i don't do something about that, the republican party that i lead is never going to win elections again. so i need to actually do something about it. the question is does he still have enough power to actually pull something like that off, or is he so lonely now in this party that there aren't enough allies to make a real difference here. i think there are quiet ones in the senate. but you'll notice there are not a lot of republicans that are going anywhere near as far as mccouple did. most of them aren't saying anything at all. >> t

fight back aggressively right now otherwise you're going to be eaten by the qanon base just as jeff flakeely said we may have to lose a couple elections to save the soul of our party. we might if we cross marjorie taylor greene, we might lose some house seats and might lose some house elections but let's look at the long-term, he said. do we want to be the party of conspiracy theories and qanon or talk about small government and all the things you used to talk about and jeb bush used to talk and still talk about that have been pushed to the back by this other movement. so how do you save the soul of this party if only ten members oft republican party caucus in the house were willing to vote for impeachment on something that was plain for most americans to see? >> yeah. i mean, look, to their credit that ten is double the number of members of congress who have ever in history voted to impeach a president of their own party. in that sense it's something to start from, right? i think that adam, congressman kinzinger is exactly right on this. look, i think the only path forward is through an

flakes still falling overnight. and the next potential blockbuster already taking shape. al has the timing and the track straight ahead. >>> stepping down. in a surprise shakeup, amazon's jeff bezos giving up the role as ceo of the company he built into one of the most successful ever. this morning, what the future holds for the world's richest man and for amazon. >>> those stories, plus, gold stars. the golden globe no, ma'am neighs just announced this morning live on "today." a very good morning for streaming services. live, here, today, wednesday, february 3rd, 2021. >> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today" with savannah guthrie and hoda kotb, from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >>> good morning, everybody. welcome to "today" on a wednesday morning. it's good to have you with us. >> good to have you with us, indeed. there's a lot happening this morning, including those problems still being caused by that massive winter storm. it's buried much of the northeast. by the way, if you're tired of shoveling, you better keep the muscles warm. al is tracking the threat of even more snow coming this weekend. we're going to get al's forecast in a moment. >>> hopefully a lot of

another view from jeff flake, former senator, former republican senator of arizona said, a tweet last night, it is impossible to watch today's impeachment trial and not be repelled, sickened and moved. there is no defense for former president trumps action on january 6, none. just a recap of where we are on the schedule and again the concluding remarks from house managers will happen today but unsure if they will use all of the 16 hours total. the defense presentation gets underway and as we come to air cnn's reporting some sources on the defense side saying that they will just use friday for their case for mr. trump. on saturday at 2:00 o'clock eastern the trial will reconvene for questions from senators on both sides of the argument in the closing arguments in the final vote on impeachment such to happen next week. capital has already been busy and at just a reminder to that if you are unable to watch all of the proceedings as you are always able to do, you can catch it online later at c-span .org / impeachment or carry it along with the app, c-span radio app and that is available f