mcconnell: yeah.ghter] reporter: so, this is our last question and we are officially out of time. i don't want to get the hook from your staff, but early 2023, you will pass mansfield for the longest-serving for senate leader, 2023, right? you will tie him. do you have any thoughts about it, your legacy, which would done, and nancy pelosi gets very upset that she gets asked when she will leave and we never ask you if you're going to leave, so are you looking at the exits? [laughter] that has to be something i asked. sen. mcconnell: since you want to ask me, i will run again for leader. um, um, i never thought honestly i would get to the senate, so i am extremely proud of the fact that they have elected me without opposition is many times as they have, and i hope they would do it one more time at least. as far as beyond that, we will have to wait and see. reporter: alright, senator mcconnell. thank you for joining us this morning. thank you all of you for doing this in person and the livestream. [appla

that seemed to signal that the mcconnell world, if not mcconnell himself, were very uncomfortable with his candidacy. obviously donald trump endorsed walker, and then mcconnell made a decision to endorse him and he is now the prohibitive favorite. obviously he will be the gop nominee in georgia. what i tried to get out of that interview was what was your thought process after absorbing those allegations and then deciding he was someone you were comfortable putting your name against. the other reason i think this line of questioning is a public interest is mcconnell has a riff that he gives, which is his history lesson is the 2012 election. he says that is an election where we should have won the majority. we didn't because we had unelectable candidates and he lists the names like he did yesterday for me. christine o'donnell, the one who said she wasn't a witch. todd aiken, et cetera. mcconnell said, we had to change the business model, we had to get involved and root out the unelectable candidates. the obvious follow-up is here are two races, you have said vital races, missouri and can

when you ran against mitch mcconnell. like an old school political boss, wouldn't be as much of a problem of mitch mcconnell we're still demanding that himself ought to be at the start of his career. our, junior senator, rand paul, is the worst kind of believer. you mentioned that he's two people. he's the person who was exhilarated, i felt exhilarated by the fact that this fellow, trump, donie discredited themself, he told jonathan martin. he asked about the 25th amendment. he said trump finally pulled a gun does that pull the trigger. he seems to be such a pure political animal, with no sole inside of him. we will see when you first ran? you are continuing dating in your book that it was always like that? >> you are right, mitch mcconnell did novel soul. but in the beginning of his career, he supported organizations like me. he supported women's rights. in a lot of, ways he would condemn himself now. but it just shows that democracy in the pursuit of power at all costs. and, look, as a kentucky, and we have mitch mcconn

so to, mitch mcconnell. and now we know just how cowardly kevin mccarthy and mitch mcconnell are. because we now know what they want to do. and what they were afraid to do. and that same book, we learned that mitch mcconnell said privately, if this is an impeachable, i don't know what it is. mitch mcconnell said that after donald trump incited the insurrection at the capitol, that's when he said that. and mcconnell told republican senators including john thune, report meant that he was leaning toward voting to convict donald trump in the impeachment trial in the senate but richard connally didn't do that because he is a coward. when speaker pelosi and house democrats started publicly discussing impeachment don trump for the january 6th attack on the capitol. mitch mcconnell privately said, the democrats are going to take care of this son of a bitch for us. mitch mcconnell and kevin mccarthy knew that the democrats had enough votes to impeach donald trump in the house but at least 17 republicans would have to vote to convict on trump in the senate to reach the two thirds threshold

i don't know that mcconnell believes that. barr is more of an ideologue than mcconnell.s that he cares about more than mcconnell. mcconnell is a political animal who cares about winning. i read his book. he is a big baseball fan. he is very competitive. he is animated by the game of politics. so i think it is interesting to ask that question to mcconnell. i don't think he would view the left taking over in such apocalyptic terms which -- look, i don't have reason to doubt the sincerity on that day. i think he was genuinely outraged. his wife resigned. i think there was a two-week period max when he and a few others in various positions thought finally we're done with this guy and we can cut him out of the party. that window closed and everyone shut their mouths and mcconnell went to mar-a-lago and it was back to normal and the nrc was giving trump whatever it was the freedom award or whatever. it was so quick. it didn't take a month. so, yeah. >> the door didn't close. they closed it. the republicans had the opportunity to purge trump from the party and they blinked. the

and mitch mcconnell is spot on. his largest hurdle right now is if they can get out of the republican primary, viable mainstream republican candidates. or quite frankly, do you look like candidates that are problematic. like, for example, herschel walker in georgia. you document some in the insane things herschel walker has done. is he going to, to a certain extent, is he going to be a viable candidate once voters start understanding and knowing who he is, and what democrats turned their attack on him. >> and the state of georgia, also produce marjorie taylor greene, so maybe they'll be fine with him. let's talk about lost, but not least. we have nevada where mcconnell is dropping $50 million to defeat another democrat. and eight republicans are battling for the nomination. nevada is interesting for multiple reasons. especially that latino vote. and that great top of trump making inroads despite the racism he's pushed against yeah, latinos. that is fascinating state. people might now remember, we flip nevada blue un

this is mcconnell speaking, quote, he, donald trump put a gun to his head and pulled the trigger, mcconnell said standing in the doorway of the capitol after midnight. quote, it couldn't have happened at a better time. mitch mcconnell sees donald trump's role in january 6th exactly the same way that liz cheney does. should he share what led him to say those things with anyone investigating january 6th? >> 100%, nicole, and you know, these revelations in the book are paired with, of course, 2,000 texts that have been dumped on us as well, and these texts frankly have enough crazy in them to make you feel like trump has already got his twitter back. what i see in those texts is very much akin to what that mcconnell excerpt is, which is something that all of us in the reality-based community understand and know, which is that everyone on january 6th believed that the rioters thought they were following trump's instructions and that trump could stop it, and that's why you have quarter after quarter from trump jr. to all of these people that were in trump's inner circle emailing the chief of sta

>> senator mcconnell: well, we will see.e in a good position to win that race regardless of who the nominee is and i guess we will find out in the next few weeks how much this endorsement made a difference. >> dana: and then finally, sir, we are in spring, it is a time for hope and renewal as passover and easter will be observed next weekend buried in the latest nbc poll, 71% of people said they feel like the country is on the wrong track. it's got to be made up of -- that's a bipartisan agreement there, that the countries on the wrong track. i'm sure you are often asked this question, which is, you know, do you have hope for the country? do you think that there is a way for us to get through all the things we are going through and continue to thrive and be the leader of the free world? >> senator mcconnell: absolutely. look, this is the greatest country in the world. we have these rough spots, and without them for 200 years. we always found a way to correct when we are on the wrong path and move in a different direction, so

mcconnell's trying to change that. that battles playing out, but something that donald trump has not been able to do is significantly reduce the grip on the senate republican conference. >> just on the issue of the return, you said return, which makes me think, return to what? because i do wonder, what is a say about the republican of the party. you are proud of that they allowed this carnival barker to take it over and remake and his own image so firmly. >> well that's right, mehdi. people just bent the knee. they gave up. they don't bother them that trump was out there lying, tricking people, doing everything they could for self preservation. all the stuff they're doing at mar-a-lago, which was detailed so effectively in that piece, and the new york times, this is not about the republican party. donald trump just does not care about the republican party. he cares about the republican party as long as they owned subsidiary of the trump administration, those guys trying to make it. although if the republican party says

mcconnell's office is declining to comment to nbc news.capitol hill. also with us is punchbowl news co-founder jake sherman. he's an msnbc political contributor. so ali, i'll start with you. i know we're trying to independently confirm some of the reporting in this book. but talk me through the reaction we're getting from lawmakers so far. >> yeah, garrett, look, these excerpts come on the end of a long recess for congress. so i think all of us here know that we're going to be asking a lot of these questions when lawmakers come back here next week. at the same time, though, what this reporting does show us is that these two top republican leaders thought that they might have seen the end of trumpism because of the role that the former president played in inciting the january 6th insurrection. privately at least that might have been what they thought according to this reporting. but publicly of course mcconnell and mccarthy have taken two very different routes when contending with donald trump at this point and moving forward after january

trump was peddling these things. >> here is more on mcconnell's mind-set on the book.ying to get him to do the right thing. two of the lawyers telling trump he could figure this out or mike pence could deny the election cockamamy, no legal basis. they weren't the only two. he was hoping the voices of reason whoever they might be would get to trump. >> the voices in trump's ears and trump wanted to hear that said don't. >> looking forward to the book. >>> vladimir putin says he will achieve his mission in ukraine. '. smart bankers. convenient tools. one bank with the power of both. chase. make more of what's yours. [♪] if you have diabetes, it's important to have confidence in the nutritional drink you choose. try boost glucose control®. it's clinically shown to help manage blood sugar levels and contains gh quality protein itto help manage hunger andlp masupport muscle health.s try boost® today. out here, you're more than just a landowner. you're a gardener. a landscaper. a hunter. because you didn't settle for ordinary. same goes for your equipment. versatile, powerfu

trump's role on january 6th, mcconnell said, was clearly impeachable. he suggested that he would be among the republicans who would vote for conviction. he said quote, if this is an impeachable, if this isn't impeachable, i don't know what is. >> nice words from senator mcconnell, right? principled sounding words. but of course senator mcconnell did not vote to convict trump in the senate and because he didn't, 17 republicans never were going to. so trump wasn't convicted. so he's not barred from running for office again. senator mcconnell's office did not respond to multiple requests for comment today about this new reporting. but even beyond what jonathan martin and alexander burns reported about senator mitch mcconnell, it's their recounting of kevin mccarthy's reaction, house republican leader kevin mccarthy's reaction in the days after january 6th that are perhaps even more striking. and this is where we're going to make some news here tonight. here's what mr. burns and mr. martin say about kevin mccarthy. quote, on january 10th, kevin mccarthy con

mcconnell was stumped by it. his lack of answer is -- it gave a moral answer to the framework, that he does have no red lines. i think there is why mitch mcconnell is the example of the worst of these people. mitch mcconnell saw what happened on january 6th clearly. he understood that donald trump was morally responsible for it, he understand that the five people that are dead as a result of what happened on january 6 are dead only because of the actions of donald trump. he's -- he saw this 100% clear eyed. then a few days later he decided for political reasons that's not a red line for him. he can go along with that. doesn't matter that donald trump's responsible for an attack on our capitol, the deaths of five people, the injuries of dozens of police officers. he doesn't care as long as he can stay in power. you know, i wrote about this at the time for "the bulwark," i think that makes what mitch mcconnell has done worse in some of the todying trumpers who like what happened on january 6. he understands the con

that was mcconnell's phrase. what we have seen is a republican leadership that knows the truth being pushed away from it. i don't know whether it's better or worse. it's a hard question. when they know the truth and don't say it or they're so deluded they don't know. what we do see -- this is the last piece of context -- that many people are coming to the congress in 2022 if the polls are right, who are not at mcconnell and mccarthy positions and believe donald trump was justified in attempts to overturn the election, first by praud and then by force. >> mm-hmm. joyce, we heard scalise there, who knows well about the risk of violence and has lived that. we hear him talk about, well, some of these people are going past a line that could be illegal. is he correct in that concern? he was talking about allies of the then-president trump and some of his even republican colleagues. >> he's absolutely correct in his assessment that it's possible that they're overthe line, and ari, i think you laid out just right, as ame

nice words from senator mitch mcconnell, right? principled sounding words. but of course, senator mcconnell did not vote to convict trump in the senate. and because he didn't, 17 republicans never were going to, so trump wasn't convicted, so he is not barred from running for office. senator mcconnell's office did not respond to several requests for comment today about this new reporting. but even beyond what martin and burns are parted about mitch mcconnell, it is there were counting of kevin mccarthy's reaction, house republican leader kevin mccarthy's reaction on the days after january six that are perhaps even more striking. and this is where we are going to make some news here tonight. here is what mr. burns and mr. martin said about mr. mccarthy. quote, on january 10th, so four days after the attack on the capitol, kevin mccarthy convened a small group of house republican leaders to share his thinking. speaking with just three other top republicans on a private, call mccarthy said he might call on trump to resign. he conferred for more than 45 minutes,

mcconnell is not a fan.ote for mitch mcconnell as a leader. >> only thing to vote for donald trump approving of the conduct and where you can touch women is thinking it' rehencible and supporting him. you made mitch mcconnell something more awful than someone who agrees with the authoritarian impulses of trumpism. >> that's the hardest part. so many colleagues i respected and thought would stand up to the nonsense have taken a firm position and a fetal position under the desks and hoped he would go away and continues to wreak havoc. to this day he is trying to execute a coup. to this very moment. and he will continue to do that. and it's in my recollection first leader of the country that went out of the way to polarize the country. to divide us. that's what he wanted to do. so the only way this gets noited back together is for people of courage to stand up and say the emperor wears no clothes. >> why not give her backing and say anyone with information about the coup plot should talk to the committee? jim j

and mitch mcconnell can't reckon it. but i cannot engage in politics here because of the hatch act, i have to be careful. it is not our plan to make allow mitch mcconnell to make that decision. chuck schumer would make that decision in 2023. i'm confident that if there is a vacancy, leader schumer would make sure that person is a prompt, fair hearing. >> i want to turn to the situation in ukraine. we heard ukraine's foreign minister today that we need three things. weapons, weapons, weapons. sean penn, just back from ukraine, was on this program the other night. i want to hear you we respond to what he said. >> if we can't show solidarity and acknowledge the inspiration, that as a man and leader and as a nation, on where ukraine has become, i don't know where you fall in the legacy of life. >> ron, are you concerned about how you are going to feel when you look back on the biden legacy in terms of support of ukraine? including on weapons? are you satisfied that the united states is delivering all of the weapon capabiliti

you look at mccarthy and mcconnell where mcconnell has not spoken to donald trump since that day.ccarthy said critical things about president trump after january 6 paid when he realized the base did not react that way, he comes back into the trump column. mcconnell basically decided not to yell as loudly and be as critical as he was. liz cheney showed the acorn does not fall for far from the tree. she is not going to run from a fight. you can agree or disagree with her, but she is just like her dad. host: quickly, democrats or republicans take the senate? guest: i think both the house and senate are going republican. what ought to scare the heck out of democrats is let's say republicans have a 52-48 majority, you go into 2024, there are 23 democratic seats up, 10 republican seats. what is worse for democrats is there are seven democratic senate seats up in states donald trump carried in 2016 or 2020. there is not a single republican seat up that hillary clinton or joe biden carried. whatever bad happens to democrats this november could be compounded in 2024. there's never a good t

you look at mccarthy and mcconnell where mcconnell has not spoken to donald trump since that day. mccarthy said critical things about president trump after january 6 paid when he realized the base did not react that way, he comes back into the trump column. mcconnell basically decided not to yell as loudly and be as critical as he was. liz cheney showed the acorn does not fall for far from the tree. she is not going to run from a fight. you can agree or disagree with her, but she is just like her dad. host: quickly, democrats or republicans take the senate? guest: i think both the house and senate are going republican. what ought to scare the heck out of democrats is let's say republicans have a 52-48 majority, you go into 2024, there are 23 democratic seats up, 10 republican seats. what is worse for democrats is there are seven democratic senate seats up in states donald trump carried in 2016 or 2020. there is not a single republican seat up that hillary clinton or joe biden carried. whatever bad happens to democrats this november could be compounded in 2024. there's never a good

mcconnell's office declined to comment on the quote when asked by nbc news.d in that same book, by those two reporters, of "the new york times," kevin mccarthy planned to tell trump to resign in the days after january 6th. but mccarthy again denied that charge. yesterday, while he was touring part of the texas border. >> the reporter never asked me that question. the reporter came to me the night before, and my understanding of me saying that i asked president trump to resign. no, i never did and that's what i was answering. if you're asking now, did i tell my members that we're going to, ask them if i told any of them, the answer is no. >> kevin mccarthy still remains unclear and continues to muddy the water more, note that marjorie taylor greene was over his shoulder in that clip. >>> still ahead in sports, the blame game starts in brooklyn. a championship team goes to washington. and the mets get lucky in st. louis. "way too early" is coming right back with sports. with sports with my hectic life, you'd think retirement would be the last thing on my mind.

that's illustrative to how mcconnell views this.r and winning. despite his personal views, despite whether he personally believed this was impeachable behavior or not. he was never going to deflect from the rest of the conference, particularly as you saw only about half a dozen or so did end up voting to convict him at the trial. >> in the biden white house when these things play out, do they have the idea that like these republicans did initially after january 6th, trump is done, or do they assume that trump is right there in 2024? >> i think they are really watching to see what -- whether the president will -- former president will step in you'll remember during the campaign, biden said he believed republicans were going to have this epiphany about wanting to work with democrats and their approach to the former president. so maybe i think biden at some point was thinking that they would be able to stand up to the former president if something like this were to happen. clear, they're not. >> the number who have had that epiphany, y

i want to take mcconnell at his word he is an institutionalist.body who tried to overturn an election and open to not holding a hear on a supreme court nominee at any point in a president's turn if he's not your party, that's not institutionalist. that's party over country. >> and margaret, i was wondering what both of you thought about what happened last night down in north carolina. trump just endorsed dr. oz in a have tight race for the nomination in the senate in pennsylvania. it was an endorsement that dr. oz sought, but does it actually help the democrats? what do you both think? >> that race essentially between mccormick and dr. oz for that republican nomination is within a couple of points. it's within the margin of error. so that endorsement could be quite meaningful. it comes with a particular sting as the wife of the other candidate was a senior staffer for donald trump in the white house, dina powell. they also have senior white house staff on board. and mccormick had again a long way against what many people who have known him for a l

also, that mccarthy and senate republican leader mitch mcconnell looked into the 25th amendment as an option for removing trump from office. joining us now, we have "new york times" national political correspondents and cnn political analysts, both of them, alex burns and jonathan martin. this is their book "this will not pass: trump, biden and the battle for america's future," preordering is available now. i think you're probably going to want to do that after you hear some of what's in this book. this is the first time we're hearing it. it is fascinating. talk to us about this. mccarthy it sounds like, you know, after january 6th happens, he is going to -- his plan is to ask trump to resign, recommend that he resigns. what happens? >> we're taking readers inside the inner sanctum of the ca capitol, inside these rooms, these private meetings and conversations that are taking place with urgency after january 6th. the leaders of the gop and congress desperate to figure out what do we do, how do we hold this president accountable, how do we solve frankly this political problem? and mcca

here's how the "washington post" reports on mcconnell's comments.self. mcconnell told jonathan martin, one of the authors of the new book entitled "this will not pass," when asked about his feelings on the violence and the rioters. he put a gun to his head and pulled the trigger, he said. standing in the doorway of the capitol after midnight, couldn't have happened at a better time. the book, as reported by the "washington post," alleges mcconnell asked martin what he heard about invoking the 25th amendment and that he had spoken with democratic leadership about issuing a joint statement, telling trump not to attend the inauguration. the authors write that senator mcconnell planned to cut into trump's influence on the gop in the upcoming midterms, similar to how he weeded out far-right candidates in 2014. we crushed the sons of -- you know whats -- he said to martin, according to the book. adding, and that's what we're going to do in the primary in '22. a spokesman for senator mcconnell declined to comment on the book. despite his strong stance agai

and mcconnell was exhilarated. he was celebrating that moment because he thought it was finally the event that we do trump in. even inquired with the authors of this book about the 25th amendment. whether cabinet members in the administration, one of them of course, was his own wife, elaine chao. the transportation secretary. whether cabinet members of the vice president were considering some sort of laid action to remove the president from office. he seemed to be almost gleeful at the political, the dire political state that president trump on themself and in the hours after that attack. >> riveting, interesting, it will sell books. however, it is unclear if there will be any consequences. i'm interested to see those text messages with make mulaney. he joins to be as this morning and discuss this with them actually what he meant in those text. he's a contributor there now. phil rucker, carol, and chuck rosenberg, always good to see you all. coming up next, the u.s. calls for weakening russia's military as it conti

the pushback against mcconnell. i'm sorry number push back by mcconnell. oh, how do i think that you know what we're seeing now, you know about the censure and so on. so i'll preface this by saying like i don't want to make it sound like as i said in one of my previous answers, i don't think trump is invulnerable. i don't think he's i don't think that people see him as like as infallible as as they used to i think there is something that is wearing a little thin about his act although like he hasn't been on the stage as much so i don't know what it looks like when he is once again at the center of our political universe and our new cycle, you know that said i've read enough of these. national review editorials and wall street journal op-eds and heard enough denunciations by romney and mcconnell from the senate floor to know where this is probably heading and that's with trump turning this around to his advantage and i think that what you started to see in the last few days because and we didn't even get into this little big part of the book is about the cr

this is in large part due to senate minority leader mitch mcconnell who has a chance to become majorityu had with him yesterday. >> if republicans take the senate in november, as polls suggest is very likely, and a supreme court seat opens up next year, 2023 -- not an election year -- can you make a commitment for the american public here today that you will at least hold hearings on president biden's nominee? >> most hypotheticals i don't answer, and i think that whole question puts the cart before the horse. >> respectfully, it is a big deal that you won't answer this question because, you know, in 2016 you made what you called a principled argument for not holding hearings on president obama's supreme court nominee merrick garland, you said it was the mo important thing you ever did in your career, the most consequential. the argument you made was it was an election year and we should give the voters an opportunity to weigh in and let the next president select it. are you suggesting that you are developing an argument for not holding hearings on a supreme court nominee if it is not a

that is what mitch mcconnell is talking about.full well the political environment is very strong for republicans but he also remembers when republicans don't nominate strong candidates, when they have divisions within the party it can cost him otherwise winnable races. that is what is keeping mitch mcconnell up before these midterm elections. >> battleground ohio. making an endorsement while some candidates asked him to stay out of it. is he trying to play kingmaker? >> he is definitely trying to play kingmaker. one of the other situations you have here is just kind of this question of an competitive situation such as ohio where you have a variety of candidates, someone who has been in the past very critical of donald trump which he made reference to in the endorsement is, has an association with risk that you do not normally see a former president weighed into in these ways. at the end of the day, you have a number of these candidates lose, what does that tell us about donald trump's strength within the coalition of the right goi

according to the book, mcconnell said privately, if this is not impeachable, i don't know what is.tly the different position when the impeachment trial was occurring and did so for explicitly political reasons. >> good to see you, abby, thank you for being here. >>> coming up for us, two former russian gas executives and their families found dead just one day apart. eerily similar circumstances. details on what we know right now next. it can be a smaller house, but a bigger nest egg. a goal to work toward, or the freedom to walk away. with 200 years of experience, personalized advice, and commission free trades on an award-winning app, we are working for you. planning. investing. advice. jp morgan wealth management. waxed. natural. sensitive. new dove ultimate antiperspirant. our unique water based formula and 6x more glycerin. helps reore skin to its best condition. new dove ultimate. ♪ ♪ when you order the all new deluxe three cheese and bacon omelette, you get a smile on your plate. only from ihop. join the rewards program and earn double pancoins with any omelette purchase. wea

mcconnell's office has declined to comment on their report.w mitch mcconnell and kevin mccarthy viewed trump's complicity immediately after the fact on january 6th, predicted his expulsion from the white house and the party and walked that back in the face of trump's explicit and implicit threat, and when he was asked to comment, donald trump told "the wall street journal" i think it's all a big compliment frankly. they realized they were wrong and supported me. >>> the first all-private mission to the international space station is about to head home. the spacex crew is due to undock from the iss at any moment. ahead i'm going to talk live with astronaut chris hatfield about this historic mission. >>> and then right after the show, the unbelievable true story of a man who took on vladimir putin and lived to expose the truth. the sundance award winning film "navalny." i'll talk to the director right after the break, but, first, here's a preview. >> hello. [ speaking foreign language ] >> hung up. >> remarkably vladimir putin faces a legitimate

>> well, mitch mcconnell -- mitch mcconnell is not steve bannon. the principles of democracy of fair play to have lower taxes on rich people. the amazing thing about rich mcconnell is someone who has -- i'm probably going to get in trouble -- he sold his soul for the sake of a tax cut. it's an amazing thing he does not at some point look in the mirror and say, my god, what have i done? aren't there things that trump the questions of conservative economic policy, but in mcconnell's behavior the answer is no. nothing matters except pushing the country towards distributional income, pushing our policy more to the right. >> as you say it's a really distinct contrast to some people who have a set of beliefs whatever it may be, but it makes it all the more dangerous because what he's willing to do. thank you for being with us. thank you. >> thank you. >>> appreciate it. coming up we will turn to president obama and why he's warning about misinformation across the country. stay with us. across the country stay with us with pronamel repair toothpaste, we c

mcconnell happy not to speak to donald trump.him to go along with some of the picks for the senate, and if trump declares himself a candidate for 2024, that relationship will have to be minded. mccarthy and trump do speak from time to time. trump has not committed to backing mccarthy for speaker. he is still angry about the phone call from january 6th. he is still angry about the words we had replayed from the capitol floor when mccarthy denounced briefly what trump did, even though mccarthy has done everything possible to get back into trump's good graces. that's an example of just how tight trump's grip remains on the republican party. you get a critical voice here or there. this is still his party. my question to you, trump hasn't announced that he is running again. he may not. the expectation is that he will. if he does, do you see any republican mounting a serious challenge, pick your person, who could dethrone him at the top of the republican party? >> not at this point. you need a certain amount of collective courage among

. -- and mitch mcconnell of kentucky. both of whom took to the floor to call out donald trump. >> there is no question, none. president trump is practically, and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day. no question about it. president trump is still liable for everything he did while he was in office. we have a criminal justice system in this country, we have civil litigation, and former presidents are not immune from being accountable by either one. >> the president bears responsibility for wednesday's attack on congress by mob rioters. >> he should have immediately denounced the mob, when he saw what was unfolding. these facts require immediate action from president trump. except his share of responsibility, quell the brewing unrest, and ensure that president elect biden is able to successfully begin his term. >> the president bears responsibility for wednesday's attack on congress by mob rioters. and while those words were these strongest public condemnation we saw of trump from republican leaders after

of course, mitch mcconnell would not prefer donald trump be the nominee.ng he is the majority leader next fall and he's hoping he can block biden judges and hoping a republican wins in 2024 so he can add republican judges. for him it's that simple. he's able to triangulate this in his mind. he's not close to president trump but also won't break from him. >> he also knows that president trump is more popular within the republican party than he is. >> by a mile. >> by a mile, exactly. you're absolutely right, jeff. he's using him as a means to an end. and that will continue if republicans take the senate next year. >> we also learned this week, just in the last day, new reporting from cnn about these text messages between donald trump jr. and the former president's chief of staff mark meadows. he says, it's very simple. we have multiple paths, we control them all. he's talking just in the few hours after the election before all the votes are even counted, and in subsequent text messages lays out a strategy that includes the fake electors, includes the vice p

do you think mitch mcconnell's concerns are warranted? guest: i do. republicans have screwed it up in the past. democrats have two. the most radical candidates run in the primaries. the most engaging angry voters vote in the primaries. they wind up nominating somebody that cannot be elected in the general election. most of the country is not hard right or left. that is wide joe biden ran as a moderate. most of the country is in the middle. not necessarily on economic issues where people are feeling the pain right now. you want to elect somebody who has convictions to move policies forward. we cede some of the moderate republicans who are voting for supreme court justices that no democrat would vote for. a republican president nominated somebody to supreme court. we have seen republicans voting for tax increases after they promised they would not. she george h w bush being the most egregious example. i am from washing, d.c.. where the only, -- politicians with convictions are present. -- are in prison. host: a viewer sends this week. cal thomas, what i

you saw that mcconnell didn't try to dispute it. maybe this will be the impetus to make them show up voluntarily. we have a similar issue coming up with pence but could they at least speak to that aspect of what trump did and they knew about it? it would be really helpful. >> betsy, that was the 1/6 committee. the other side is newly expanded or public that a doj investigation, mccarthy uses the word on the call with a lot of people on the line that trump -- faulted trump for inciting people. and reiterated that what the president said was not right by any shape or form. incitement in the intersectionality of donald trump and the extremists and the rioters at the heart of the newly expanded doj probe. how do they not touch into doj witnesses? >> that's an incitement is a legal term and the fact that kevin mccarthy who had direct knowledge of the president's state of mind before, during the riot used that term without question to prick up ears at the justice department. folks reach out to doj right now to cooperate are fairly high up

mcconnell reportedly met with two longtime advisers on january 11th and quote, during that lunch, mcconnell told his advisers there would be at least 17 senate republicans ready to affirm trump's impeachment, supplying the two thirds vote needed to convict. trump's role on january six, mcconnell said, was clearly impeachable. he suggested that he would be among that republicans who would vote for conviction. if this is an impeachable, i don't know what is, he said. senator mcconnell's office declined to comment on this report. meanwhile, nbc news reports donald trump junior, eldest son of former president trump, is expected to meet with the january six committee in the coming days. the panel did not issue a subpoena for that presidents son. and a source tells nbc, the final date has not been schedule, but it will not be this week. with that, let's bring in our experts, jacqueline alemany, congressional estimations reporter for the washington post. an msnbc contributor. neal katyal, a department of justice veteran and former acting solicitor general during the obama administration. who has a

mcconnell said they wouldn't have him. but last week was interesting because mike lee said on january 6th on the floor of the senate that they didn't have mike lee. and then the texts come out that he was active. not just might vote at the end, he's plotting for what it would take to get his vote, which again sheds more light on the january claims about peter novare r who told us about the list of members of congress. the texts, what everyone thinks of his admissions, the texts bear out that may have been true. here's what he said about that. >> the plan was simply this. we had over 100 congressmen and senators on capitol hill ready to implement the sweep. at 1:00 p.m., ted cruz and gosar representative started the green bay sweep beautifully challenged the results. >> was mike lee one of those people on that list? >> this was peter navarro who was working at the white house saying the plan, we had a plan. who was the we? he was working for the president. and as you say, thank god it was a failed coup to sub vrt election,