now, history calls them the robert barrons, which is a divisive term and i think wrong in many ways in fact it's a blood sucking tyrant, right? they weren't blood sucking tyrants. the notion is that they took advantage of the public. this is one of the cartoons, well here is our robert barrons there, and happy and took advantage of the public but i've got to tell you something. that's from schools and hollywood. that's their standard treatment. it was anything but. ironically, even last night, president biden used the term to warn against technology ceo's. you know, i'm going to show you how the robert barrons were instrumental in creating prosperity and living standards for america at the time that were the envy of the world. the so-called robber barons took folks off the firm where they've lived every year praying the crop would come in, but then it didn't and that was it. into the urbanization and these cities where they had to stop praying for the good crop and started having discretionary income. this led to the debut of american-style capitalism. i think best put on display in th

more than a century ago the american people stood up to the robert barrons back then and busted the trustsey didn't punish the wealthy. they just made the wealthy play by the rules everyone else had to. >> laura: first, the wealthy paying a lion share of our tax burden already. second, how can he be upset about concentrations of wealth and erosion of the middle class when his policies helped drive this dynamic? globalization on steroids, unfair trade deals, deindustrialization? all helped ship jobs overseas by the millions. our workings class got stretched and our rich got richer. joe biden supported everything from nafta to china joining the wto. >> riding china is an incredibly positive development for not only china but the united states and the rest of the world. we should hope for the expansion. >> overwhelmingly interest that china grows. >> we talk about china as our competitor. we should be helping. >> laura: yeah. that worked out really well. fbi -- his own fbi director says china is america's biggest threat today. let's not forget the green agenda, inflationary spending. that's h

barron lopez. geoff: there was one more make or break committee hearing today. robert f. kennedy, jr.ent for a first committee hearing yesterday and for the first time we heard republicans expressed doubt about him. lisa desjardins joins us now. what were the major differences? lisa: this was a much sharper hearing and potentially more impactful. this was the health committee chaired by a potential swing vote, senator bill cassidy of louisiana who also happens to be a trained physician. right at the top of the hearing he said something we had not heard yesterday. he said he has real concerns as a republican of past misleading and unfounded statements by kennedy about vaccines. then he asked a direct question to kennedy. sen. cassidy: will you reassure mothers unequivocally and without qualification that the measles and hep b vaccines do not cause autism? >> senator, i am not going into the agency with any -- sen. cassidy: kind of a yes or no question, because the data is there. that's kind of a yes or no. and i, i don't mean to cut you off, but that really is a yes or no. >> if the da

barron-lopez. geoff: and there was one more break-or-make hearing today. that was for health and human services nominee robertjr. he went before a second committee after a first round of questioning yesterday. and for the first time, we heard a republican publicly express doubts about him. our lisa desjardins was there. she joins us now. so, lisa, what were the major differences between the second hearing and the first one? lisa: this was a much sharper hearing and potentially more impactful as well, geoff. this was the senate's health committee. and it is chaired by a potential swing vote, senator bill cassidy of louisiana, who also happens to be a trained physician. now, he right at the top of the hearing said something we hadn't heard yesterday, which was he said he has real concerns as a republican of past misleading and unfounded statements, he said, by kennedy about vaccines. and then he asked a direct question to kennedy. bill cassidy (r-la): will you reassure mothers, unequivocally and without qualification, that the measles and hepatitis b vaccines do not cause autism? >> senator, i am not going into

roberts. back to the rotunda. as former and future first lady melania trump and a wide brimmed hat enters with a smile. take her place next to the podium. son barron greeting her. lawrence o'donnell. while we have eyes on what's happening here in the rotunda, you had any first thoughts on what you've been watching thus far today? >> well, there is a there. >> there is. >> i've noticed on social media this morning already some confusion about the nature of this ceremony and the participation in it by people who said that the election of donald trump could mean the end of the continuity of this government. >> and this ceremony is, of course, to celebrate the continuity of this government and everyone joining. it is supporting the continuity of the government. but there are voters out there who are confused about people participating in it. and i think that's an understandable confusion. serious observers of it understand it and understand the reason why president biden would say something as magnanimous as welcome home to donald trump. >> but there is some confusion out there. >> there's 75 million people who voted for kamala harris for president, m