i'm in for jonathan lemire.begin in europe where it's been exactly one year since russia launched its unjust war on ukraine. ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy recognized the day writing, quote, on february 24th many us made a choice, not fleeing but facing, resisting and fighting and this year we remained invisible -- invincible, sorry. we know that 2023 will be the year of our victory. here in the united states the biden administration is marking the somber day by announcing a new aid package for ukraine, it's the second among the week. among other things it includes several new unmanned aerial systems and more ammunition. the white house is also imposing new economic sanctions today against more than 200 groups and individuals in russia and other parts of the world that are supporting moscow's war efforts. g7 leaders are also set to meet to announce even more sanctions to hold russia accountable. the white house says secretary of state antony blinken will address the security council in new york today to

it is jonathan lemire.ke a look and underscore how cozy the relationship was president trump administering and saudis. first trip was to riyadh. kushner and bs had a what's app conversation going. there was cover after the jamal khashoggi murder. this has been going on for quite some time. we know the investment with curb kushner. what's the sense of how trump may or may not have benefitted from the financial relationship, in or out of office? >> yes, one of the things in the story we tried to do is lay out how there was this close relationship between trump, kushner and bin salman. without the relationship, he may not have rose to the crown prince and then made it to the throne. when the cia made the finding that bin salman ordered the killing or capture of jamal ka khashoggi, "the washington post" columnist, many thought it was the end for bin salman. but trump later told "the washington post" associate editor bob woodward he had, quote, saved, unquote, bin salman. after the trump administration leaves of

john heilemann and jonathan lemire are still with us.nist and associate editor for "the washington post," david ignatius is with us this morning. and white house correspondent for "politico" and co-awe author of "the play book," eugene daniels joins us, as well. >>> most americans are not interested in seeing a rematch between joe biden and donald trump in 2024. according to a new "washington post"/abc news poll, biden and trump both fail to generate broad excitement within their own party. 56% said they would be dissatisfied or angry if trump returned to the white house in 2024. more than 6 in 10 americans said the same about the prospect of biden being re-elected. among republicans and independent leaning republicans, most. 17%. meanwhile, the latest ugov poll puts president biden's rating heading into his state of the union address at 45%. that's relatively stable for over the past 15 months, joe, joe biden holding his approval rating. i'm kind of surprised by this and not surprised. because joe biden is constantly underestimated. but

speaking of boston sports, jonathan lemire, the pitch clock, it's a good thing. games that weren't were 3 hours and 30 minutes, 2 hours and 30 minutes. >> yeah, first of all, i should have gotten the memo of the celtic green, being the biggest celtics fan here on the panel. they had a great win saturday night in philadelphia with a buzzer beater. i'm with you, joe. this is a game changer in major league baseball. we only had a couple days of spring training, but the pitch clock is here and it is a good thing. the games were clocking in at 2 hours and 30 minutes, 2 hours and 45 minutes. barely any broke the 3-hour mark, and that is a refreshing change from what we've seen in recent years, where the games would extend 3, 3 1/2, 4 hours long. shorter games is good for attention spans and kids who can see more of it. over the weekend, we had our first bit of controversy, though, with the clock, involving our red sox. you've heard of a walk-off. this was a clock-off. >> this was a -- >> what? >> -- clock-off where they did walk-off. look at this. talk about anti-clima

and jonathan lemire, stay with me please. i want to continue the conversation with you. >>> when we come back reaction in russia to vladimir putin's address today. plus we'll turn to a big story back at home. the train derailment on the ohio border, the administration today ordering the rail company to take full responsibility of the cleanup while the transportation secretary pete buttigieg unveils a sweeping package of reforms for the entire rail industry. he joins us on that, pete buttigieg in the very first interview since this story broke. and later bombshell reveals from thefore person in the special grand jury in the fulton county, georgia, investigation into donald trump. what she's saying about multiple indictments and whether the ex-president is expected to be on that list as well. all those stories and more when this special "deadline white house" continues after this. don't go anywhere. house" continues after this. don't go anywhere. feel the ache and burn! one man learns the truth... over-the-counter eye drops typ

i'm jonathan lemire. thanks for being with us. the former president to testify before a grand jury, according to a source familiar with the matter. in a sign of an aggressive new legal strategy which was first reported by "the new york times" a source said special counsel jack smith has asked a judge to allow prosecutors to invoke what's known as the crime fraud exception. which would let them sidestep protections afforded to evan corcoran now attorney-client privilege. a source tells nbc news prosecutors allege in a sealed filing they have evidence some of the former president's conversations with an attorney were in firth furthererance of a crime and is believed to have asserted attorney-client privilege on behalf of trump in refusing to answer certain questions related to his representation in the documents investigation. nbc news has reached out to corcoran and a trump spokesperson for comment, nothing back yet. meanwhile former vice president mike pence plans to challenge a subpoena from the special counsels investigating for

i'm jonathan lemire, thanks for being with us.ld trump again is going on the offensive against the man many say is the biggest threat in securing the 2024 republican nomination and of course florida governor ron desantis. on social media yesterday trump whipped desantis for the crowd size at an event he spoke out calling it, quote small and unenthusiastic and also blasted fox news for covering the event while ignoring a recent rally of his own. trump unveiled a new nickname for desantis. ron desantis which an apparent play off of his previous ron desanctimonious insult. he stayed away from meatball ron, and also went so far as to praise former governor chris as a way to dismiss -- trump's also seizing on a proposal made by one of his 2024 primary opponents nikki haley seemingly in an effort to one up her. trump took things a step further yesterday. on social media he called for both mental and physical fitness tests for all presidential candidates writing, quote, being an outstanding president requires great mental acuity and phys

i'm jonathan lemire. thanks for being here. is step down from his committee assignments in the wake of multiple ethics probes. he put out a statement yesterday reading in part "with the ongoing attention surrounding my personal and campaign financial investigations, i have submitted -- >> did mccarthy tell you to step away. >> nobody tells me to do anything. i made a decision on my own. >> i met with george santos yesterday, and i think it was an appropriate decision to clear everything up in the committees right now. >> is that something you asked in an interview? >> we had a discussion and i think it was an appropriate decision. >> these days we usually see santos running from reporters trying to answer their questions, but yesterday he actually sat down for a tv interview and he blamed the media. while he did so a new york republican sat down with right-wing news outlet yesterday and hit back for those calling him out for his own lies. >> i think it's important that america understands, you know, that a lot can be said, a lo

i'm jonathan lemire. we're glad you're with us. land war kyiv is warning russia has begun to divide up and deploy hundreds of thousands of soldiers in small groups to identify and report vulnerabilities in ukraine's defense. ukraine has had to counter by deploying its own troops stretching its army thinner. it's unclear when russia will launch but ukraine defense minister said on sunday russian soldiers had been begun to be dispatched in ukraine's northeast. there have not been signs of heavy armory moving at least not yet. >>> meanwhile president biden expected to travel to poland this month to mark the anniversary of the invasion according to three people familiar with planning that trip. the current schedule for biden to make the trip near the end of february. now, sources did note the trip is not final until the white house announces it and that the plans could change and look for any speculations whether he'll make a trip to kyiv. joining us now our friend richard, his new book entitled the bill of obligations, the ten habits

i'm up jonathan lemire. thanks for being with us.d off her bed for president yesterday. haley called for a mandatory mental competency test for politicians over than 75. an implied dig cleary at joe biden who's 80 but also interpreted as a potential swipe at her one time former boss, former president trump, who's 76. >> america is not past our prime, it's just that our politicians are past theirs. our best days are yet to come if we reunite and fight to save our country. when i look to the future i see america strong once more, and the america i see the permanent politician will finally retire. and mandatory mental competency tests for politicians over 75 years old. >> the former governor and ambassador to the u.n. also ran through a litany of promises on cracking down on undocumented immigrants. the past four years the winners of south carolina's republican primary has gone onto win the party's presidential nomination in every single election except one. joining us now senior national political reporter for nbc news. natasha, thanks

jiem jonathan lemire, thanks for being with us.ts and democrat leaning independents say their party has a better chance of winning the white house in 2024 with biden remaining at the top of the ticket. 45% meanwhile say another candidate gives their party a better chance. back in november just 38% said biden was their party's best option for 2024 while 54% felt another candidate would better serve democrats. as for republicans and republican leaning independents, 54% say someone other than donald trump would give their party the best chance of winning next year. that's unchanged from november. republican senator tim scott of south carolina, meanwhile, took another step yesterday towards a possible run in the 2024 republican presidential primary as he took a visit to where else, iowa. the senator gave a speech to call out democratic policies, and he talked about his experience being a black conservative. >> conservativetism is my personal proof there is no ceiling in life. i can go as high as my character, my education, and my perse

i'm jonathan lemire. thanks for being with us.day following an emotional ceremony. his mother said her faith is the only thing keeping her going after the death of her youngest child. >> tyre was a beautiful person and for this to happen to him is just unimaginable. i promise you the only thing keeping me going is the fact i really truly believe my son was finished with his assignment from god. and i guess now his assignment is done and he's been taken home. >> vice president kamala harris was invited to the funeral by nichols parents. the reverend al sharpton did the eulogy and asked the vice president to come to the podium and she was among the many calling for justice. >> and when i think about the courage and the strength of this family, i think it demands that we speak truth. and with this i will say this violent act was not in pursuit of public safety. it was not in the interest of keeping the public safe because one most ask was not it in the interest of keeping the public safe that tyre nichols would be with us here today.

i'm jonathan lemire. thanks for being with us.ws hour for his first interview following tuesday's "state of the union." in an interview cucked yesterday in wisconsin biden hit on multiple topics including his plans for 2024 and his first comments on the republican party's behavior during his speech. >> did you expect that kind of reaction? >> from the folks i did it i was. the vast majority of republicans weren't that way, but, you know, there's a -- there's still a significant of what i call the maga republicans, you know, the make america great again republicans. and it's -- you know, i kind of anticipated it, but there are an awful lot of -- the speaker was gracious and so was -- were a lot of the members. i spent most of my career with the congress and members of the congress. i know the place well. i know the system well, and i'm always so comfortable when i'm up on the hill, for real. been there most of my life. wasn't too bad at it either. >> every indication you're running for re-election. you haven't announced yet. democr

i'm jonathan lemire, thanks for starting your day with us. many of the republican party's biggest names will not be attending the annual conservative political action conference in maryland this week just outside washington, d.c. potential 2024 candidates will not be at the annual gathering. rnc chairwoman ronna mcdaniels, senate minority leader mitch mcconnell and house speaker kevin mccarthy are also sitting out this year. this year's conference comes as cpac's chair faces a lawsuit that alleges he fondled a male aide to then senate candidate herschel walker back in october. his lawyer says he denies those allegations. none of the politicians that have said they are not attending have cited the allegations as the reason for their absence. however, several republicans who spoke to nbc news anonymously have said the allegations are indeed a factor in the broader movement away from the annual conference. the event, which in years past, was one of the biggest for conservatives, will feature speeches from former president donald trump, 2024 cand

i'm in for jonathan lemire.met with members of the congressional black caucus yesterday as they tried to revise discussions around a federal police reform bill. when democrats held the house last congress they passed a reform package, but it died in the senate. president biden then issued an executive order last year targeting some reform priorities. the oval office meeting comes in the wake of the death of tyre nichols this month who was beaten by memphis police forces. president biden told reporters he hoped the case would spur action on capitol hill. the white house read out echoed that, quote, president biden and vice president harris remain committed to doing everything in their power to achieve police reform in congress. >> we have agreement on how we will continue to work forward both from a legislative standpoint as well as executive and community based solutions, but the focus will always be on public safety. public safety for all communities because we understand that it is about the culture of policin

i'm jonathan lemire. thanks for being with us. for clinical depression at walter reed national medical center just outside washington. his chief of staff says the senator checked himself into the hospital on wednesday night writing this in a statement. while john has experienced depression off and on throughout his life it only became severe in recent weeks. fetterman suffered a major stroke last year while campaigning in a highly competitive senate race. he was hospitalized last week after he felt light-headed, but his staff said tests ruled out another stroke. fetterman's wife posted on twitter after what he's been through in the past year there's probably no one who'd want to talk about his own health less than john. i'm so proud of him for asking for help and getting the care he needs. several senators also posted messages online supporting fetterman including senate majority leader chuck schumer. >>> meanwhile new polling shows that former president trump leads the 2024 republican presidential race. it's pretty close. accordi

we have jonathan lemire, author "the big lie."of course. james, this is a gang that just can't shoot straight. it's not even fair, they're so dumb. they had this twitter hearing. then we find out they get people to testify and we're supposed to get this big reveal, and the big reveal is when donald trump tweets something out, they literally change the rules. for instance, the old fascist screed "go back to where you came from," there was a rule at twitter that you couldn't do that until donald trump did it. they were so desperate to protect donald trump that they changed the rules for him. >> you've got to understand they think that everybody is as stupid as they are. that's just not true. when they have a hearing, they forget that jamie raskin and ben goldman presents something that's foreign to them, a high iq. you could see that. they just don't understand that. they think everybody is as stupid as them and the people that vote for them. that's just not the case, thank god. >> this has backfired against them. they boo and hiss

jonathan lemire and jen psaki still with us.d to have you with us. joe, all eyes on capitol hill as the president delivers the state of the union and got a lot on his plate. >> he does have a lot on his plate. i can't wait to hear -- you have the smart guys there with you. >> i do. >> chris matthews, you look at the polls. i don't pay attention to them. 3.5% americans say that joe biden didding? . i'm exaggerating. the polls are so amazing. even republicans and annuity gingrich would say this. joe biden had historic success. he accomplished great things. that message is not getting out there. that's not all on the white house. what do you do if you're joe biden to say look at what we have done and facing in the next two years with these insurrectionists to deal with? >> he has to use the audience tonight. he's been to the bridge across from ohio to kentucky, the baltimore tunnel, gateway tunnel, the new one across the hudson. putting 20,000 to 30,000 people to work. talking about working people who don't have college degrees. th

that news coming in from kristen welker and jonathan lemire.-- >> exactly. and jonathan lemire and mike barnicle in the remaining minute, we're going to let you choose one of two breaking news stories this morning. >> i have the monkeys. >> one is this search, the other is the monkeys were found in a closet somewhere? >> the monkeys were in a closet. >> it happens. >> from the dallas zoo, the monkeys that were missing, they were found in a closet outside dallas in an abandoned home. >> all right. >> that's a good news story. >> nobody knows how they got there. they don't know who did it. >> some newscasts end with the squirrels. >> monkeys, documents. >> but let's talk about the documents. what can you tell us, jonathan, in the remaining moments? >> as discussed, no warning needed. these fbi agents currently at the house, expected to be there for several hours. this is president biden's vacation home where he does spend some time. the white house has said they'll update us later on today with what was discovered. >> we stepped all over the bigg

jonathan lemire and jen psaki are still with us. msnbc contributor mike barnicle with us. >> yes. >> mike. >> here we go. while president biden finished his trip in europe, china's top diplomat continued his tour of moscow. wang yi met with vladimir putin yesterday. >> what is he doing? this is like going to vegas right now and saying, "hey, you know what? can i bet on the red sox winning the world series? i want to put my money on the red sox winning the world series." it's in the going to happen. >> one day after putin delivered his national address. >> what is china during? >> during the public portion of the meeting, weapons were not discussed. officials warned china could seek to support russia with weapons in its war on ukraine. instead, putin highlighted their economic partnership. >> because, i mean, really, seriously, you look at russia. a country that had a smaller gdp than texas before the war started. i mean, if he keeps going, it is going to be mississippi. >> yeah. particularly -- >> lowest gdp in america. >> china and

i'm jonathan lemire. thanks for starting your day with us. president joe biden delivered his annual "state of the union" address last night before a newly divided congress. speaking for just over an hour, biden touted his administration's accomplishments while repeatedly stressing that the job isn't finished yet. he struck a unifying tone as he expressed desire to work across the aisle to get things done. >> i start tonight by congratulating the 118th congress and the newest speaker of the house, kevin mccarthy. [ cheers and applause ] >> speaker, i don't want to ruin your reputation, but i look forward to working with you. we're ready for the next chapter in the great american story, a story of progress and resilience. when world leaders ask me to define american and i they do believe it or not, define it in one word and i mean this, possibilities. we don't think anything is beyond our capacity. everything is a possibility. i signed over 300 bipartisan pieces of legislation since becoming president from re-authorizing the electoral college r

jonathan lemire. guess what, the circus is in town. not everyone is dressed. >> show starts at 6:00. >> if you could get ready, it is 6:00 a.m., heilemann. >> when you drag yourself from madison square garden to the set, you sometimes have a little bit of -- >> there we go. >> we're going to start with excuses. okay. i bet jen palmieri has no excuses. >> doesn't need 'em. >> women never do, but men are always late. >> jen is here. former adviser to president george w bush, mark mckinnon is here. they're co-hosts of showtime's "the circus." dressed or not. okay. let's get to the top story. >>> many of the republican names will not be attending the cpac in maryland this week. potential 2024 candidates, ron desantis, former vice president mike pence and governor glenn youngkin will not be at the gathering. mcdaniels, house speaker kevin mccarthy, mitch mcconnell, they're all sitting it out this year, as well. this year's conference comes as cpac's chair, matt schlapp, faces a lawsuit saying he fondled a

i'm jonathan lemire. thanks for starting your day with us. this morning president joe biden is in warsaw, poland, where he'll visit president aduda ahead of remarks. it'll begin at 7:20 eastern followed by a meeting leading to biden's speech marking one-year of war in ukraine. he is set to return home following that meeting. today's events come after president biden delivered a message to his russian counterpart, vladimir putin, and to the rest of the world in historic fashion yesterday by making that surprise visit to ukraine. with air-raid sirens ringing in the background, biden stood alongside ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy in the capital city of kyiv. >> one year later kyiv stands and you crane stands, democracy stands. america stands with you and the world stands with you. kyiv has captured a part of my heart, i must say. putin thought ukraine was weak and the west was divided. as you know, mr. president, i said to you from the beginning he's counting on us not sticking together. he thought he could outlast us. i don't think he'

i'm jonathan lemire. thanks for starting your day with us. former vice president mike pence has been subpoenaed by the special counsel investigating donald trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election. according to an nbc news source, pence's subpoena is related to the january 6th attack on the capitol. both pence and special counsel jack smith declined to comment on the matter yesterday. smith was appointed to lead the probe back in november by attorney general merrick garland. since then he has subpoenaed local officials in key presidential swing states for any and all communications involving trump, his campaign, and allies. this comes as the house committee then investigated the capitol riot found evidence fake electors submitted trump vagtryes to the national archives in the hope pence would substitute them for the real hopes that made joe biden president. we'll have more on that story ahead. >>> also this morning more on the chinese surveillance balloon shot down off the coast saturday. according to a senior state department official t

. >>> i want to bring in jonathan lemire, msnbc political analyst and "politico's" white house bureauef. let me first do some background here. there was a group of house republicans who after biden left ukraine met with president zelenskyy in kyiv, and they promised continuing support, but back at home, speaker mccarthy has vowed there are no blank checks for ukraine. talk about the challenges the president faces back here at home when he arrives to keep that support going. >> president biden wheels up from warsaw just a short time ago. it was a pretty triumphant visit to eastern europe, of course the surprise trip to kyiv and that show of solidarity with president zelenskyy, and then yesterday the full-throated defense of the alliances and the vow to stand up to putin, whatever it takes, for how long it takes, that he delivered in poland, and a few more meetings today before heading back to washington. you were right, there's still a lot of hard work ahead. they did secure the administration, a lot of new funding for ukraine at the end of last year in a lame duck session of the last

i'm jonathan lemire. thanks for being with us.k after a massive earthquake leveled parts of turkey and syria rescuers are still finding survivors buried in the rubble. this as more than 36,000 people have now lost their lives and building contractors in turkey are facing intense scrutiny. nbc national news correspondent gabe gutierrez was given rare access inside a hospital where thousands of survivors have been treated. >> reporter: after more than 182 hours trapped in the rubble this 13-year-old boy is alive, holding a rescuers hand. more astounding rescues a week after the initial earthquake. newly released security footage showing terrifying moment as buildings crumbled into clouds of dust. we visit the hard hit turkish city where the living live in tent camps and the lost in the graves. the search and rescue team called here because they got word there might be a survivor trapped in that rubble. they instead found the body of a 16-year-old, and right now her family is in the process of identifying her. as turkish prosecutors

i'm jonathan lemire.nks for starting your day with us. we'll start with the new report on the positives of co-vichltd according two sources with direct knowledge of the matter, the federal energy department says it has, quote, low confidence that the virus likely originated from a lab leak in wuhan, china, however, it believes covid was not the result of a manmade bioweapon. "the wall street journal" was the first to report on this classified intelligence report recently given to the white house and key members of congress. yesterday national security adviser jake sullivan was asked about this development. >> did the coronavirus pandemic start in the lab? is that what they believe now? >> a number of them have said they don't have enough information to be sure. here's what i can tell you. president biden has directed repeatedly every element of our intelligence community to put efforts and resources to getting behind the bottom of this question, and one of the things in that "wall street journal" report,

jonathan lemire and jen psaki still with us. moscow, the nearly two-hour-long address filled with propaganda, accusing the west of starting the war and giving no indication the fighting will end any time soon. meanwhile, joe biden is in poland meeting with allies following his historic trip to ukraine. josh lederman is live in warsaw, poland. josh, fill us in. >> reporter: it was not that many years ago that president duda of poland was viewed with a lot of skepticism in the west due to some of his less democratic views and comments. but today there was a real sign of unity and tight alliance between the united states and poland as president biden met with president duda at the presidential palace, duda praising biden for his bravery and courage in paying that visit to kyiv secretly yesterday. duda saying it has shown the world that ukraine is not forgotten. and president biden talking up not only the importance of the u.s. continuing to stand shoulder to shoulder with poland, but also with nato and describing the importance of

clearly, jonathan lemire, this is not a united idea from democrats.internal favorite inside the white house who are not sean patrick maloney. >> a lot of asian-american lawmakers would like to see walsh's deputy, julie su, take over the position, a high-profile position in the cabinet. maloney has critics, including aoc, but defenders, incluing former speaker pelosi, carries a lot of influence. though maloney lost, many think he deserves credit for a better than expected showing by house democrats this fall. it was his home state of new york that many point to as potentially costing the dems the majority. they were expected to lose by 30, 40 seats or more. instead, the republicans' margin in the house on a handful. there is some groundswell to give maloney some sort of job, mika, whether it is this one or not remains to be seen. >> interesting. he is very talented. >>> joining us now, someone who is also very talented, former treasury official and "morning joe" economic analyst, steve rattner, who somehow branded his charts. he is known across america

news senior white house correspondent kelly o'donnell, and "politico" white house bureau chief jonathan lemire. we now know we're going to hear about this in 50 minutes or so. he is back from his physical, kelly. why now? finally now some people would say. >> as our team had reported, we had anticipated this speech was coing and what we needed to find out was the specific time. part of that required the president's physical to fall into place as it did today where he spent about three hours at walter reed. in the larger sense, the answer to your question is the white house wanted to have that process that jake sullivan talked about in place, wanted to have some time to gather information that would come from a few different things. some of the equipment that was removed from the bottom of the ocean and recovered from the chinese spy balloon that was shot down off the coast of south carolina, they were able to do some intelligence surveillance on it when it was in the air and parts of it recovered. so that's one flow of information to the president. they also were trying to gather information o

until they do, america is going to sit back and yawn at their campaign. >> jonathan lemire, we have a case in that very point last night. nikki haley was on with sean hannity. sean asked several times, where do you differ from donald trump on policy? where do you differ? give me a couple areas you differ. she wouldn't answer the question. he said, i'll try one more time. he asked her. she said, "look, sean, i don't kick sideways. i'm kicking forward," something like that. she said, "i'm running against joe biden." actually, that's not true. first, you're running against donald trump before you get to joe biden. even on the day of her campaign launch, there still are no good answers to that question. >> she's obviously had months and months to prepare for that very question. of course, yeah, you might get to face joe biden eventually, but you have to get through. he is the final boss. you have plenty of people to get through first, and trump most of all. for all these republicans, it'll be this delicate dance of where you need to try to differentiate yourself from trump without drawing

jonathan lemire, jen palmieri and eugene robinson are still with us.t of the podcast "on brand with donny deutsch," donny deutsch. and former republican strategist and veteran of the mitt romney and george w bush campaigns, now senior adviser for the lincoln project, stewart joins us. >> we're going to start in a bit about some problems republicans are having getting anything passed through the house because of their own internal divisions, because of the extremists, what they're pushing, also what they're stopping. first, let's talk about the grim news coming out of michigan state. you know, most issues, i'm very good looking at both sides and figuring what side needs to give up what, but our former party on the issue of guns won't do the most basic things. after sandy hook and even through to today, 90% of americans support universal background checks on all gun purchases. 85% of americans support red flag laws, aggressive red flag laws. most americans -- by the way, this is most republicans, most nra members. you could even talk about military style

at least jonathan lemire hopes it's for true. this time, it is for good.d. "morning joe" is back in a moment. humpty dumpty does it with a great fall. wonderful pistachios. get crackin' why are 93% of sleep number sleepers very satisfied with their bed? maybe it's because you can adjust your comfort and firmness on either side... your sleep number setting. to help relieve pressure points and keep you both comfortable all night. and now, save 50% on the sleep number 360 limited edition smart bed. ends monday. business can happen anytime, anywhere. so help yours thrive and stay connected with the comcast business complete connectivity solution. it's the largest, fastest, reliable network. advanced gig speed wifi. and cyberthreat protection. starting at just $49.99 a month. plus, you can save up to 60% a year when you add comcast business mobile. or, ask how to get up to a $750 prepaid card. complete connectivity. one solution, for wherever business takes you. comcast business. powering possibilities. >>> what if tom brady loses? are we ready -- >> doesn't ma

and i'm always going to be the one that will be fighting more to do that. >> jonathan lemire, that was the difference between barack obama and donald trump on talking about the economy. barack obama and his people would ring their hands going, well, there's somebody in wisconsin that's not happy right now. we can't really say anything because i don't know. it's so complicated. >> sounds like a democrat from that time. >> it's so complicated, right? and then donald trump would constantly say, it was of course a lie -- >> yeah. >> this is the best economy ever. i have the best economy ever. and i swear to god after a year of doing that, i would hear people on this network and other networks go, now of course this is the best economy we have ever had but -- no, it's not. i mean, talk about -- talk about it. don't be like -- don't be splitting the differences and wringing your hands. talk about what's going well because a lot of things are going great in this country. you wouldn't know it by listening to cable news. you wouldn't know it by listening to podcasts. those people don't matter.

it is friday, february 17thment we have the host of "way to early," "politico's" jonathan lemire. executive editor of "the recount," john heilemann. former aide to the george w. bush white house and state departments, elise jordan is with us. professor at princeton university, eddie glaude jr. is with us. great group we have. a lot going on this morning, joe. >> a lot going on. we're going to, obviously, start in georgia. but, john heilemann, you know, sometimes there's statements that are layered with ambiguities. you listen to them, and the more you listen, the more you think, well, maybe, maybe there's a mitigating factor here. maybe this person meant this. maybe they meant that. no. the more you hear donald trump's call with the secretary of state of georgia, demanding one more vote than he lost by, it keeps getting worse every time. every time i hear it, i come away with it thinking, there's just no way they're not going to indict that guy in georgia. >> the only slight amendment i'd say to that, joe, is it was pretty clear from the beginning. we all heard it the first time.

"way too early" with jonathan lemire is coming up next.

"way too early" with jonathan lemire is coming up next. >>> what the previous days have shown we'll alwaysrest of the american people and the

way too early with jonathan lemire is coming up next. >>> my brother was the most peaceful person, thenever lifted a finger to nobody. >> got a long fight ahead of us, and we're going to stay strong for it. so justice foryr

"way too early" with jonathan lemire is coming up next. >>> the fact the u.s.until recently, is that an intelligence failure? is that a militar

"way too early" with jonathan lemire is coming up next. >>> she has never posted a video depicting herselfating and killing fellow members of congress. she doesn't question whether a plane really smashed into the pentagon on 9/11. she does not wonder if school shootings in america are staged. she has not propagate

"way too early" with jonathan lemire is coming up next. >>> i never stood in the way of senior membersmy team cooperating with the committee and

"way too early" with jonathan lemire is coming up next. >>> we have to fight for justice.ontinue to let these people brutalize our kids. >> tyre was a beautiful person, and for this to happen to him is just unimaginable. i just need whatever that george floyd bill

"way too early" with jonathan lemire is coming up next. >>> here's actually the good news, there's a interesting, i wanted to call them out on that last night. it sounded like they

"way too early" with jonathan lemire is coming up next. >>> i want to take a moment to say our heartsith the students and the family of michigan

"way too early" with jonathan lemire is up next. >>> a major conservative conference is going to be messing go through the big names in the gop who are skipping cpac. plus president joe biden's plan to cancel student loan debt for some

i'm jonathan lemire alongside nbc's ali vitali. we have breaking news this morning.nt joe biden is in ukraine. he made the trip ahead of the one-year anniversary of russia's invasion of ukraine. he had been scheduled to depart tonight from washington to poland. he would give a speech marking the anniversary of the war and the u.s.'s commitment to ukraine's cause, but he made this trip days in advance. we're seeing now brand-new images of president biden in kyiv with ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy. the two presidents walked around downtown kyiv, images appearing on social media. and then these here at ukrainian government buildings. the president of the united states, again, has made a secret trip to kyiv, days ahead of the war. this is his first trip there since the conflict began. he was one of the last western leaders to make this trip for obvious security reasons. that's why this trip was not announced until now. we're seeing images of the president of the united states in poland where he'll be marking this presidents' day. let's go now to nbc news corres

"way too early" with jonathan lemire is up next. >>> these are live pictures from russia where vladimir putin continues to push propaganda about his invasion of

i'm jonathan lemire. thanks for starting your day and week with us. >>> we'll begin with the latest on that chinese spy balloon and rising tensions with beijing over the biden administration's decision to shoot it down. a senior defense official tells nbc news that the pentagon has been analyzing the remnants of the balloon over the past few days after it was shot down off the coast of south carolina on saturday. according to the defense department, the balloon first entered u.s. airspace on january 28th. it then briefly crossed into canada before re-entering u.s. territory on tuesday around idaho and then floating across the midwest, eventually spotted over kansas before being in south carolina. the president gave new insight on why the balloon wasn't brought down sooner. >> on wednesday i ordered the pentagon to shoot it down as soon as possible. i told them to shoot it down. >> on wednesday. >> on wednesday. they said let's wait for the safest place to do it. >> they waited in part so debris wouldn't f

"way too early" to jonathan lemire is up next. >>> new overnight, the number of people killed following earthquake in turkey and syria is rising. as crews

"way too early" with jonathan lemire is coming up next. >> president putin's craven lust for land and power will fail, and the ukrainian people's love