mitch mcconnell himself said that. we senators have decided to hang our hats on jurisdictional grounds which are not raised on evidence, which are not a stone the fact and they will have to be judged for that. we have done our duty for the american people. >> let me introduced speaker pelosi and i will come to you next. >> it had not been my intention to come to this press availability however tempting it would be to sing the praises of our house managers. on behalf of not only of the house of representatives, on behalf of the american people and i have to save personally on behalf of my grandchildren you give great hope and inspiration from each and every one of you. i could not be prouder of your patriotic presentations, the clarity in which you presented and again the inspiration that you have been to so many people. so i thank you for that. it reminds me that when we recruit candidates to run for office and when we see them self precluding we always say well i could be the president of my university or the head of

mitch mcconnell who won this distinguished. group of house managers were gathered on january 15th to deliver the articles of impeachment could not were told it could not be received because mitch mcconnell had to shut down the senate and was going to keep it shut down until right until the inauguration so for him to get out there and make this indictment against the president and then say but i can't i can't vote for it because it's after the fact that's fact that he established the fact that he established that it could not be delivered before the inauguration now when you think about january 6th between january 6th and 323 aren't talking about just under 2 weeks a day under 2 weeks so. the big lies as stop the steal the big law that you talked about stop the steel was the momentum for getting these people there on the 6 they honestly believe for whatever reason maybe too much social media whatever watch social media that movie. why were they were thinking that that was true that the lection was not legitimate whatever the rea

mitch mcconnell himself said that. the senators have decided to hang their hat on jurisdictional grounds. >> it was not my intention to come to this press availability no matter how tempting it would be to sing the praises of her house managers. and on behalf of my grandchildren who do great hope and inspiration we cannot be powder and that clarity that you presented and again the you have been to so many people. so when we recruit candidates to run for office or see them self recruiting, we always say i be the president of my university or the head of my hospital. but we don't learn without options and that's why we look to run because you have options that should not be a reason for you not to run. so we saw a cowardly group of republicans apparently have no options because they were afraid to defend their job and respect the institution of which they serve. but that in so many bad ways of one even go into and that they were not respect their institute that is a president of the senate. haying mike pence was the chan

i don't think the republican party is anymore the republican party that that mitch mcconnell joined in and mitch mcconnell would recognize it has moved as and he was making the point there are no the likes of green who supports and has spoken in favor of the cuban on conspiracy theories the likes of the particle and shooting the school shooting was faked the fact that sandy hook another school shooting was faked and the victims were child actors she has sent these out into the world and when she stood for office in georgia she won and won by some considerable distance so i'm not entirely sure that mitch mcconnell who's known in his seventy's understands where the republican party has gone under donald trump who himself re tweeted out on several occasions many of the conspiracy theories and is at the heart of many of the q. and on conspiracy theories on how he is going to be the savior of the united states how he's going to break up child sex ring across the country how he can still there's still a conspiracy theory that comes back and talks about how he will take office on the day wher

nonetheless out with a lengthy statement, railing on mitch mcconnell. i'll read you part of it here. mitch is a dower, sullen, unsmiling political hack. if republican senators are going to stay with them, they will not win again. he will never do what needs to be done or what is right for our country. where necessary and appropriate i will back primary rivals who espouse making america great again and our policy of america first. mitch mcconnell wants to regain majority where two democrats in the run-off picked up those two seats that led to a 50/50 senate. mitch mcconnell has said he wants to push for candidates he views as electable, whether backed by donald trump or not. donald trump is making it clear he plans to engage, put himself in the middle of these senate primaries, making it a loyalty tests of sorts between donald trump, the former president, his bols as well as mitch mcconnell. we'll see how that plans out where republicans are eager to take back the senate. wolf, quet, too, for mitch mcconnell, how does he respond? he has not backed down fr

and an extraordinary post verdict attack party leader mitch mcconnell says trump is responsible for the assault on capitol hill. there's no question about. their present troubles practically. and morally responsible. for provoking. also had me at most military rulers to give themselves more power as as they face intensifying anger over last week's. donald trump says his political movement has only just begun after being acquitted by the u.s. senate in his 2nd impeachment trial in 12 months democrats fell 10 votes short of a conviction as fellow republicans largely swung behind the former president to shield him from responsibility for the deadly capitol hill riots on january 6th the . $57.00 days for ease 3. 2 thirds of the senators present not having been very guilty the judges that responded john trump former president states is not guilty as charged in articles of impeachment reacting almost immediately via a statement trump sank his legal team and hinted at plans for the future saying he has much to share in the months ahead leading republican senator mitch mcconnell was among those

mitch mcconnell made it clear, i don't want these witnesses. the democrats got the votes to call the witnesses. so they won that round. but mcconnell then signaled, if you proceed with this plan, i will wreak havoc in the senate and the democrats then yielded to him. it wasn't like they got nothing in return. they got the mcconnell speech and they got the permission to go ahead and all of that happened, i don't think we take -- if we get sort of reports from inside a sealed room, we think that's real. when it happens in front of us, with people sort of signaling and winking, we don't take it as real. but there was a tradeoff. no witnesses. mcconnell's speech. and permission for this covid package to go ahead and in a way with probably less obstruction than you've seen at any time since the first months of the obama administration. >> well, we'll see how much obstruction we get when they actually get to the bill. john heilemann, david frum, thank you, both, for joining us tonight. really appreciate it. >> thank you. >> take care. >>> coming up,

the republican party can never be strong with senator mitch mcconnell at its helm. declaration of war on mcconnell and his arm of the party? >> reporter: yeah, it's remarkable, given the fact that mitch mcconnell was a central ally of donald trump for the past four years. mcconnell rarely criticized donald trump and was central in getting his supreme court nominees confirmed and pushing his agenda and even as late as december 15th, he would not criticize donald trump's rhetoric about a stolen election. i asked him on december 15th, the date after the electoral college, declared joe biden the victor, whether or not he has concerns with donald trump saying the election was stolen. at the time mitch mcconnell said, i don't have any advice to give the president. then on january 6th, his tune changed. he became much more critical about the efforts to overturn the elections, even before the riot occurred and afterwards, we heard his voice get louder and louder up until saturday after he voted to acquit donald trump on a constitutional concern, but then later said that dona

that was mitch mcconnell's voice. papers to walk them over and it was mitch mcconnell who already called the senate into recess. it on him. how can he possibly say, well, man, we couldn't do it. that was his doing. >> it a fair question, stephanie. and mcconnell did not say if he would have found trump guilty on the charges were he still president. so he was a little vague on that point. what the mcconnell aides i talked to say is that he believed in the week or so that the senate had before president donald trump was going to leave office and the time that the house impeached that the senate could not conclude a trial of him at the time. but i will point out the vote on constitutionality was tuesday. a majority of the senate ruled that it was constitutional to try the president. the only vote today was guilty or not guilty. that was the decision by mcconnell and other republican senators to say he is not guilty, however they wanted to justify it. >> you can listen to what he says and watch what he does and mitch mcco

senate. >> brendan, mitch mcconnell of all people. carried so much water, i'm sure his arms must hurt. he should have giant muscles. can they really replace mcconnell? >> there's very little donald trump accomplished that you can't thank mitch mcconnell for getting done. this actually feels very quaint and sort of like it's normalizing. hannity's entire shtick is going after republican leadership and telling republican voters why they're bad. this isn't a fair fight for mitch mcconnell. i don't want to suggest that it is. he's got people like sean hannity and all kinds of senators who will probably take donald trump's side. but i think mitch mcconnell understands that. mitch mcconnell is just a political animal, and i think we have to accept that's what he is. when he's looking at it and saying i don't want to elect a kelli ward in arizona or nominate them when you know they're not going to win, being a realist is the best we could hope for. it's not going to poof go away. we need to take steps towards becoming a normal party again an

united states speaks to americans, the former president rages from exile in florida, attacking mitch mcconnell and threatening any republican who sides with the gop leader. quote, mitch is a dour, sullen, and unsmiling political hack, and if republican senators are going to stay with him, they will not win again. that as we are learning tonight that the former president is also on the outs with rudy giuliani. we're going to tell you why, all of that. i want to bring in now cnn's chief white house correspondent kaitlan collins, senator political reporter nia-malika henderson and contributor evan osnos. good evening to all of you. kaitlan, good to see you again. long time no see. so i'll start with you. >> it's about 30 minutes. >> i know, right? yeah, about 30 minutes. so the president made news tonight on vaccines, getting back to pre-pandemic life. give us some of the headlines. >> yeah. when it comes to vaccines, he was asked by anderson, when is it going to be that there are enough vaccines for anybody who wants want to get one? and for that timeline, he said that's end of july. just earlie

why is mitch mcconnell speaking out about this now?taking on a life of its own. it's obvious that some in the republican party want to go die on this hill. and i think he's sending up an urgent warning that we can't be a national governing party, we can't be a majority party, we can't even be competitive if we're going to be the party of, you know, jewish space lasers and that 9/11 didn't happen and all the conspiracy theories that he mentioned that marjorie taylor greene has expressed interest in. so i think mcconnell is trying to warn republicans we cannot go down this road if we want to be competitive in the future. i mean, the reality is, don, if she didn't have a laptop and a video camera, she'd have a sandwich board on a street corner. what she is saying is not even within the realm of what you and i and ana would consider normal political rhetoric. we're not talking about trade agreements here. we're talking about living in a completely different crazy, scary reality. i hope folks heed mitch mcconnell's warning because i think h

who again, mitch mcconnell even as he was going to court, donald trump, mitch mcconnell essentially said and we saw how this ended. listen, i don't think mitch mcconnell deserves any praise, any pat on the back for picking on marjorie taylor greene who certainly deserves criticism, but it's a much larger problem than marjorie taylor greene. we'll see what kevin mccarthy does, but we already know what he did do which was not back her opponent, put her on this committee obviously as well and he's dragging his feet at this point, right? everything we know about marjorie taylor greene and some of the things she said is out there. a lot of stuff she said is horribly offensive, racist as well. and so, kevin mccarthy has to have a meeting to discuss what the options are rather than acting swiftly to deal with her. so i think, you know, it's a little too late not only for mitch mcconnell but kevin mccarthy as well to reign in parts of the party that had been out there for years and years and years. and had been allowed to ma it's a size, to continue this cancer metaphor that mitch mcconnell brin

mitch mcconnell with bret baier. could you ask mitch mcconnell a question for us? i want to get his answer on mr. potato head going genderless? i want to see what he thinks about that, ask him that. >> bret: what happened to mrs. potato head, right? [laughter] she now also genderless? >> greg: she disappeared on a hiking trip. to be when you have any other questions for senator mcconnell? >> jesse: you don't like the genderless thing? >> bret: i think it's okay. anything else? >> bret: cuomo, i'd ask him about cuomo. >> bret: okay. we will see if we can get there. good evening, welcome to washington i'm bret baier, breaking tonight in a few minutes i will speak exclusively with senator minority leader mitch mcconnell in his first television interview since december and comes on the date the biden administration civil rights a vaccination milestone and the massive stimulus package. fox team coverage peter doocy, leads us off on the north line. good evening. >> i asked president biden whatever happened to his promise from seven weeks ago that relief checks were going

professor, mitch mcconnell— long trial. professor, mitch mcconnell said _ long trial.rial. professor, mitch - mcconnell said that trump used the 74 million people who voted for him as a human shield against criticism. there is nevertheless a lot of anger among rank—and—file republicans, not in washington, people who did vote for president trump who do see this as political theatre and have seen democrats out to get him for the last four years, where does this leave then? is there any hope for unity and has this child made that more difficult? it unity and has this child made that more difficult?— more difficult? it should not. it ma . i more difficult? it should not. it mav- i could — more difficult? it should not. it may. i could not— more difficult? it should not. it may. i could not disagree - more difficult? it should not. it may. i could not disagree more more difficult? it should not. it - may. i could not disagree more with my colleague who said that claims that the constitution bar trying private citizens, utterly false. nothing in the constitution or nats, i t

this means everything to mitch mcconnell. he tea party days in 2010, republican party nominated some really weak candidates, christine o'donnell, sharon angle, and they lost. mcconnell took it really hard. he is absolutely furious at trump over losing the senate and to georgia runoffs. basically it's a mcconnell-trump battle for 2022. >> bret: it will be the story. stand by, up next, state democrats turn on democratic governor andrew cuomo in new york. with us. that's how you do it right. usaa insurance is made just the way martin's family needs it with hassle-free claims, he got paid before his neighbor even got started. because doing right by our members, that's what's right. usaa. what you're made of, we're made for. ♪ usaa ♪ i'm a performer. we're made for. always have been. and always will be. never letting anything get in my way. not the doubts, distractions, or voice in my head. and certainly not arthritis. voltaren provides powerful arthritis pain relief to help me keep moving. and it can help you too. feel the joy of

york. >>> let me start with you, he is going other things not just inciting insurrection which mitch mcconnell gave his personal opinion that it didn't reach the legal starred. but that mcconnell's opinion. preet is also mentions seditious conspiracien a other things. what are the other things? do you think never sees charges. >> the justice department is the key player here and we're at a moment of truth for the justice department because coming off four years of unprecedented of politicization of doj by donald trump and bill barr in particular. now we have a new doj in place. the president, joe biden says i will be hands off. he needs make good on that. . it comes to merrick garland to make the decision. the first step is do you open inquiry? i say yes you have to open inquiry into the president's conduct regarding january 6th. you need spread indication. needing some basis of fact that could be a crime. even mitch mcconnell gave us that much in his remarks. now, do you get to a charge? that's going to be a question for the prosecutors based on all the facts. >> and of course we should note,

mitch mcconnell in many ways kind of did that.hy would middle-aged, middle class americans look to lynch the vice president, for example? i want to get your take on the other side. >> hang mike pence! hang mike pence! >> they're saying "hang mike pence." what struck you about this mob and the makeup of it compared to other extremist groups? >> as you voted, it's easy to make the assumption that bad people do bad things. but the reality is that perfectly good people can do bad things when they are in particular situations. and the events in washington on january 6th hadm markings in psychology we know lead people, especially in group settings, to behave really poorly. >> what markings? >> group setting. there is lots of evidence throughout history that many people in groups get sort of caught up in what we call a mob mentality. and they do and say things that they would never dream of doing if they're alone. another key factor is when people feel hidden in some ways, when they are wearing costumes, when they are wearing hoods, when

>> let's walk through what mitch mcconnell disappeared mitch mcconnell delay the trial, specificallyefused to begin a trial until donald trump left office, and then got up and said today the only reason he's not convicting him is because the trial did not begin until donald trump left office, which was mitch mcconnell's doing. mcconnell i thought today was desperately searching for someone, any to do what he lacked the courage to do, a civil suit, a criminal investigation, any kind of other legal activity that would accept the responsibility that he shirked to take a clear stand against trump, and he truly believes i believe that trump was responsible for the mop on the capitol. i mean, they want the advantages of, you know, the energy that he inspires among his base. they don't want the downside of all the things that he does delineate traditionally white, voters and at this point, it may be too late to reverse the inroads, beachhead on extremists making it on the party especially after these back to back decisions on taylor greene and trump in the last couple of weeks. >> it is int

and mitch mcconnell, in effect -- >> he said that. i mean, mitch mcconnell said it. >> absolutely.ot past his vote against conviction, then he said, by the way, i agree with everything. i just have this technicality that we need observe. and that's why it went down. well, that just not a satisfying solution. it's not a satisfying solution. we have still -- we haven't held anybody as a ring leader for this whole assault on the capitol. that is not a satisfying resolution. so, i don't think this will go down in history as a terrific moment of bipartisanship. i think we are still struggling to work together across party lines. this country is still stuck in the political leaders can't get big things done together. >> yeah, and you're seeing -- you're already seeing some of the republicans like senator cassidy get censured or condemned by the local republicans in their states for their vote. norm eisen, david gergen, thank you both for coming on, sharing your wisdom, your experience, your perspective. thanks so much. >> thank you. >> thank you, pamela. >>> and your breaking news contin

the second surprise, the remarks of mitch mcconnell, the minority leader. he tore into the former president for stoking election conspiracy theories. mcconnell still voted to acquit, but mcconnell doesn't think that it's constitutional to conduct a trial for a former officialing. now, that has happened twice before in impeachment trials. in 1790 you had former tennessee senator william blount, he was tried in senate after he was ouf office, and secretary of war william bell knapp in 1876. i said we had a third surprise here, when we thought we may not get a final verdict today. the trial kind of spun off the rails for a couple of hours as the senate voted to consider witnesses. but the senate finally worked out an agreement to enter into the record a statement by gop washington representative jaime herrera buetler. herera butler spoke of what she learned ability a shouting match between president trump and house minority leader kevin mccarthy during the melee in january. a separate investigation continues at the capitol into security failures and faulty inte

what mitch mcconnell did yesterday was shameless. you can't sit there and make this comment that donald trump was responsible for what happened on january 6th just after you voted to acquitim. and you did it on this weird little technicality that you yourself created. it is absurd. i think mcconnell lost his

mitch mcconnell was not for the right in discrediting that. you take on the easiest crazies to take on but you avoid your responsibility to acquiescing in a much more dangerous set of lies. >> it's easier. it's the lower hanging fruit. i'm going to come back to you. >> david gergen to you, on kevin mccarthy. he could be talking to marjorie taylor greene as early as tonight. given the statement from mitch mcconnell, what do you think kevin mccarthy does? >> i think he's going to be very careful and cautious and essentially ask her to tone it down, and he will not go after her the way he should. i think he -- he needs to be tough with her. he needs to make it very clear that she's not going to be welcome within the party if she continues down these tracks. bill kristol is absolutely right as always on calling it as a -- it's farcical to have this woman representing the party, further radicalization that started years ago with newt gingrich and company and it's only gotten worse and i think more dangerous for the republican party. we need a cente

and when the white house and mitch mcconnell struck the deal, i assume the white house got something 's what i mean when i say donald trump is not going to be able to run. and i assume they will raise money and do you know his followers. but the first step is donald trump is going to launch a revenge tour in 2022 against other republicans. he will try to make himself the subject of the 2022 elections. that's the only thing that can preserve the democratic majority in the house and senate is donald trump saying i don't want the issue being anything going on in 2021 and 2022. i want the issue to be me, me, me. we know what happens when the issue is him, him, him, he loses. he will do damage to republicans. as they realize we could have taken the house back. we could have taken the senate back but because they insisted on running trump in north carolina, we didn't win a senate seat. we lost a senate seat. there is going to be resentment through the republican world. donald trump is on his way to becoming a parai. he has criminal and state and federal charges coming against him. i think t

senate ma minor leader mitch mcconnell was not one of them. but in a head-scratching floor speech, he nevertheless excoriated the former president for his actions on january 6th and said trump is responsible for the violence that occurred. >> president trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day. no question about it. a mob was assaulting the capitol in his name. these criminals were carrying his banners. hanging his flags. and screaming their loyalty to him. it was obvious. only president trump could end this. he was the only one. >> so, why did mcconnell vote to acquit? he said he doesn't believe the senate has the power to convict a former president. house speaker nancy pelosi calling mcconnell a coward and a hypocrite. one house impeachment manager saying, quote, they let him off on a technicality. as for the former president, gloating and making it clear he's not going anywhere now, putting out this statement. "our historic, patriotic and beautiful movement to make america great again has only just beg

. >> mitch mcconnell votes to acquit. but -- >> former president trump's actions preceding the riot were a disgraceful, disgraceful dereliction of duty. >> the most bipartisan impeachment vote in u.s. history. >> he incited that mob. he lit the match. come on. get real. we know that this is what happened. >> this impeachment is completely divorced from the facts, the evidence, and the interest of the american people. >> but the former president's party stands by their man. >> i think most republicans found the presentation by the house managers offensive and absurd. >> how closely has the gop now tied itself to mr. trump and his behavior. my guests this morning, the top democratic impeachment manager, jamie raskin, republican governor larry hogan of maryland, and democratic whip, senator dick durbin of illinois. plus, the cdc announces new guidelines on opening schools and the biden administration secures 200 million more vaccine doses. i'll talk to the new director of the cdc, rochelle walensky. joining me for insight an

and he also takes at mitch mcconnell, the same mitch mcconnell he's been in a fight with over the last days. here is a bit of what trump had to say earlier today on fox. >> i think that we won substantially. and rush thought we won. and he thought it was over at 10:00, 10:30, it was over. and a lot of other people feel that way too. but rush felt that way strongly. and many people do. many professionals do. and i don't think that could have happened to a democrat. you would have had riots going all over the place if that happened to a democrat. we don't have the same support at certain levels of the republican system. but we are great people as republicans. and he was furious at it and many people are furious. you don't know how angry this country is. >> we should point out obviously it is false what former president is saying there about the election. but a few things we should point out, one is i talked to a trump adviser who said that donald trump will not only be on fox news earlier today, he will be on fox later on this evening. he will be on the other conservative tv sites out th

mitch mcconnell was much to credit for -- mitch mcconnell working with donald trump did a -- of a job. they are now at each other's throat. i am more worried about 2022 the and i ever been. president trump is the most consequential republican in the party. if mitch mcconnell doesn't understand that, he is missing a lot. but my beef is not with mitch mcconnell, because we have the same policy views. my beef is that we need to knock this off. kevin mccarthy is the leader of the house republicans. he has taken a different approach to president trump. i would advise senator mcconnell to do that as president trump. you own the republican party, my friend. but 55% of the people wanted you impeached and removed. you are the hope of the future of conservatives, but we've got to make some changes to get back to the white house in 2024 and have the republican majority in the senate in the house in 20.2. i believe that democrats are doing all they can to help us. we just need to help ourselves. >> sean: the establishment wing of the republican party, if you can look at it through the lincoln pro

and mitch mcconnell. if he wants to be considered a leader, needs to figure out which side he's on. >> yeah. >> because straddling the fence is not a good look, at this state of his life. >> well, alice, let me ask you. mcconnell, telling this, to the "wall street journal," when asked about trump's role going forward. he says, i don't rule out the prospect that he may well be supporting good candidates. i'm not assuming that. to the extent the former president wants to continue to be involved, he won't be a constructive party of the process. we know what kind of candidates trump likes. so, what's mcconnell going to do, you know, if we see more in the vane of the marjorie-taylor-greene types? >> well, they will be in serious trouble. look. it's almost as if you are in a situation trying to break up with someone, saying really, it's not you, it's me. and we need to just rip the band-aid off and acknowledge the fact that since the president, former president, has been in the white house. we have lost the hou

i would say mitch mcconnell— damaging? i would say mitch mcconnell does _ damaging?? i would say mitch mcconnell does not have - damaging? i would say mitch mcconnell does not have a i damaging? i would say mitch | mcconnell does not have a lot of credibility with many republicans. he is part of the establishment. he has troubling ties to china. i think the establishment republicans would like to see someone else as a presidential nominee in 2024, so they have an incentive to join with democrats to try to ensure that donaldj trump never runs for office again. there are very few people, there are many people, rather, who see mitch mcconnell as republican. if you don't think he is, that is fine, but it is you who are separate and want to take the party into perhaps a new direction?— to take the party into perhaps a new direction? what i would sa , a new direction? what i would say. there _ a new direction? what i would say. there are _ a new direction? what i would say, there are some _ a new direction? what i would i say, there are some republicans that are very estab

if mitch mcconnell doesn't understand that, he is missing a lot. kevin mccarthy is leader of the house republicans. he's taken a different approach to president trump. i would advise senator mcconnell to do that. >> from might have standpoint, leader mcconnell speaks for himself. in this case, i don't believe he speaks for the conference and i think that he needs to be a little careful. when i speak, i do actually try to take in mind how it might reflect on the party. >> i think he needs to be a little careful, the senator said. meanwhile in an interview with npr, ben sasse who was one of seven republicans to vote to convict trump had this to say about the future of his party. >> is this still donald trump's party? >> i mean, if you look at polling in the short term, it surely appears that way, but i think the longer term question is what we need to look at and we need to distinguish between conservatism and shorter termism, if you will. i think it is important to give a frank assessment. in one term the republican party has lost the white house, ho

mitch mcconnell decided not to.to want to go the route they didn't want to go with richard nixon, which was to use the courts to seek some kind of criminal sanction against him. so it appears there is a taste on the republicans' side for to be consequences. we will see whether the rubber hits the road, whether mitch mcconnell and his allies really mean this. of course, it will be up to the biden department of justice. let's see how republicans respond if merrick garland, the future attorney general, decides to move on a trump case. will republicans stand by and support that, or will they attack the biden administration for distraction for not focusing enough on the problems of the day? so it's unclear whether mitch mcconnell really intends to follow up on the meaning of his words. but if he does, the condemnation of trump, unlike that of richard nixon, will be criminal rather than political. >> tim annaphtali, we could continue this conversation for another 30 minutes. we have to move on. thank you so much for your

and mitch mcconnell knows that. to his colleagues that he thinks that this should be over so that they can get over with. and even the idea of witnesses, democrats may not want to do it, but republicans also have -- there is no up side for them in calling witnesses. >> and i think that we have to constantly ask the question, to what end? to managers not make an extraordinarily compelling case? the trial i observed this week, they made an incredibly powerful case. as you said, there's nothing about this that looks good for the former president. nothing about it. so i just keep asking, as i'm talking to people, they're like, well, there should be witnesses. i say to what end? what is it going to accomplish? could this case get any stronger than it is? i find that hard to believe. maybe some of the holes poked yesterday by the defense counsel can then be sort of re-sealed up for the house managers, but not for something that's going to alter the conclusion of how this trial is going to go or even how it's going to be r

goes right after mitch mcconnell.ser to the former president, the op-ed in "the wall street journal" regarding the former president required a response. that's why we put it up on the screen. it's fairly personal which should not come as a surprise. mitch is a dauer, sullen and unsmiling political hack and if republican senators are going to stay with him they will not win again. now, we were told that there were other personal comments that the president wanted to make about mcconnell's chins and so on, and, you know, i talked to jason miller about this. he said, no, that's not the case. it was not supposed to be that personal although it may have been a more heated response that they were initially contemplating in terms of that statement that the president put out. the other thing we should point out, brooke, is that when trump made some comments on fox news earlier today, he took yet another veiled shot at mitch mcconnell and essentially said, well, if republicans could fight as hard as democrats when it comes to

mitch mcconnell himself said that. these senators have decided to hang their hat on jurisdictional grounds which are not based on the evidence, which are not based on the facts, and they will have to be judged for that. we have done our duty to the american people. >> we've got a lot to get to this hour. i want to begin with the politics of the vote. joining us now peter baker chief white house correspondent for the "new york times" and an msnbc political analyst and white house reporter for "the washington post" and msnbc political contributor. to you first, your biggest takeaway from this vote? >> well, i mean, in addition to the fact that the outcome was foreseen i think that two major things i was really struck by were the mcconnell reaction that you just played in which he says that the president is guilty but he was acquitted anyway. that is a significant statement with all of the caveats you can attach to why the former senate majority leader would be saying it. the fact that he broke publicly with donald trump

but in a stupefying and unprecedented move, senate minority leader mitch mcconnell who voted to acquit former president immediately took to the floor to not only say president trump was indeed responsible for provoking the insurrection, but also went a step further in condemning president trump's actions on january 6th. >> president trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day. no question about it. a mob was assaulting the capitol in his name. these criminals were carrying his banners, hanging his flags, and screaming their loyalty to him. it was obvious. obvious that only president trump could end this. he was the only one who could. >> his reason for acquittal? mcconnell says he doesn't believe the senate has the power to convict a former president. house speaker nancy pelosi was absolutely outraged over mcconnell's decision, calling him a coward. >> for mitch mcconnell to create a situation where it could not have been heard before the 20th or even be done before the 20th in the senate, to say all the things he said, oh, my gosh, about president

he clearly read mitch mcconnell's book. e's an excerpt about mcconnell's mentor, john sherman cooper. he says how do you take such a tough stand and square it with the fact that a considerable number of people who elected you have the opposite view. he didn't hesitate a moment. i not only represent kentucky, i represent the nation and there are times you follow and times when you lead. claire mccaskill, you and i were on the air together a couple times yesterday, and you were defending mitch mcconnell here a little bit during the back-and-forths. where are you on the genuineness of his remarks? >> well, let's be clear one thing that he did do yesterday. he made sure that there is a real war within the republican party, because he gave a k-him- he said lup. he gave an invitation for criminal prosecution to the nation's prosecutors. and he's the highest ranking republican in the country. >> yep. >> so yesterday was a bad day for donald trump, but it was a worse day for the republican party. why did he do that? he can't stand d

so is mitch mcconnell.he's a conservative on a lot of issues, but he's taken some other stances that at the time were really heroic. in fact, he was a civil rights champion as a republican in a time when that wasn't so common, unfortunately. i think mitch mcconnell ought to be worried about his legacy, not being majority leader again in two years maybe. he had a chance to take a stand on the right side of history. and as he i think very eloquently made the case that donald trump is, in fact, guilty, you know, of fomenting this riot, this insurrection, and yet he didn't vote for that. that's what confused me. and i was perplexed by that. >> yep, we were all hoping for some sort of viewer's guide after we witnessed that event, as i said, on live television. both of these gentlemen have agreed to stay here while i just fit in a quick break. we'll resume our conversation on the other side indeed. >>> coming up, joe biden keeping a low profile during impeachment as he had to. but how much of his administration s

mitch mcconnell said it all.t's exactly what happened. that's what we proved. >> i could feel a little bit of eye rolling what she said. it was a third of a second. i don't know if you caught it, but if you felt the room wherever you were watching tv, if you felt the room get cold, that was when she rolled her eye for a split second. are you feeling that same eye roll in terms of what this means going forward, again, understanding this was never going to be a coin toss in terms of a conviction or an acquittal, but the party put a really strong case, a very logical, a valid argument together, but donald trump was yet acquitted. >> because mitch mcconnell and gop senators did exactly what they've been doing for the past five years since trump has been leading their party. they refused to hold him accountable. they refuse to accept reality. and they refuse to even take any steps forward in their responsibility to hear this case as impartial jurors. their minds were made up, up well before this and representative pla

this emer: es regarding mitch mcconnell. this emerges in _ regarding mitch mcconnell.he _ regarding mitch mcconnell. ti 3 emerges in the wake of regarding mitch mcconnell. t1151 emerges in the wake of the peach mentor trial and which mcconnell on saturday, once it was all over, strongly criticising mr trump and saying he was morally responsible for what happened at the beginning of january at the capitol building even though mitch mcconnell voted to acquit mr trump on the belief he did not believe it was a constitutional foreigner but he firmly set the blame at the feet of mr trump for what actually happened. this is donald trump? response, in a way we have come to expect from donald trump, not mincing his words, a personal attack on mitch mcconnell suggesting he was simply the wrong leader for the republicans. if the republicans in the senate want to regain some seeds and future elections, mrtrump to regain some seeds and future elections, mr trump saying mitch mcconnell is not the right person to lead them and the former president supporting candidates who support hi

again, mitch mcconnell was indispensable for president trump getting the judges on the court, getting a major tax cut through a very narrow senate majority. but what i would say to senator mcconnell, i know that trump can be a handful, but he is the most dominant figure in the republican party. we don't have a snowball's chance in hell of taking the majority without donald trump. if you don't get that, you're just not looking.al he was a hell of a president. all of the things that conservatives really believe in, it was a consequential presidency. i'm sorry about what happened on january 6th. he will get his fair share ofar blame, but to my republican colleagues, let's try to work together. without president trump, we are never going to get back into the majority. to president trump, you are going to have to make some changes for you to reach your potential. at the end of the day, we are going to hang separately or we are going to hang together as republicans. >> sean: i want to see him use the same type of indignation, outrage against the language of schumer, kamala harris. and guess

let's hear what he had to say about mitch mcconnell on fox today. >> senator mcconnell's speech, he gotpaigns. senator mcconnell is a friend but he is going to be center stage now in the 2022 efforts to take back the senate. >> michael steele, he's not wrong. >> no, he's not wrong. no, he's absolutely right. and he should be and will be. but i think also what was more telling was the fact that, you know, he kind of laid out where republicans are right now. we're not into governing. we're not into taking responsibility. we're not into, you know, providing relief from covid-19 or trying to figure out how to get workers back to work. we're just into winning. that's all this is. i'm into winning. that's a reflection of everybody who stood with lindsey graham yesterday in that vote. they didn't give a damn about the constitution. that doesn't mean anything because you don't win with that. they didn't give a damn about, you know, the sanctity and safety of the ground on which they work because that's not about winning. so, i think he made it very clear. and the party will continue to make it

>> i think mitch mcconnell is for mitch mcconnell. he wants to resume his leadership position and it's all about self preservation. the net effect about all of this is that if donald trump stays healthy, financially afloat and unindicted, and those are three big ifs, he will continue to be the dominant force of this republican party whether he's the candidate in 2024 or not. >> so, let's be clear, though, scott, that was no vote of conscience. that was a vote of calculation, period. >> well, it was a vote that he had to cast, i think he believes, because he thinks the future politics of the party will be sorted out in these primaries. i think mike is right, that donald trump is the dominant figure in the party. and, obviously, this will spill over into the senate primaries and the presidential primary in 2024. >> i hear you. >> so the question is, are we going to nominate candidates who can't win, like donald trump didn't win this last presidential election or are we going to nominate candidates who appeal for a broader base? >> that'

he knows -- we should absolutely give mitch mcconnell credit. he absolutely believes everything he said. he's also looking at it through a political lens and he knows there is incredible political downside that not only did he just lose the majority but may never be able to get it back. if we're unable to be the party of conspiracy theorists. i couldn't associate myself with a party run by conspiracy theorists. he's trying to put a stop to that because there aren't a whole lot of other republican leaders who are saying much of anything in defense of liz cheney in particular, which is critical. >> donna, when you look at the house in general, the fact that she is there and that she may have gone on oan, but she has not made a statement, a mainstream statement about all these other things she's done, the threats she's made, the threats gwen pelosi she's liked on facebook and twitter. it's just pretty incredible she has not been punished somehow by the caucus. >> well, i mean, clearly kevin mccarthy is unwilling to take the steps that he needs in o