this is the 76th anniversary of this event. i want you to know i wasn't there because i was too young to make it up. these birds have a new appreciation of the word let freedom ring. >> president biden with some jokes during the turkey pardon at the white house yesterday. meanwhile his campaign is facing calls from fellow democrats to become more active and aggressive against donald trump. speaking of the former president, we'll explain what happened yesterday in the gag order hearing for his federal election interference case. and also ahead we'll bring you the latest in the hostage negotiations between hamas and israel, which appear to be centered on a pause in the fighting in gaza. good morning and welcome to "way too early" on this tuesday, november 21st. i'm jonathan lemire. thanks for starting your day with us. we've got a lot to get isto this morning, and we'll begin with new polling that shows americans overwhelmingly supporting boosting security at the southern border while they're less enthusiastic about helping countrie embroiled in foreign conflicts. in the latest nbc news survey 74% of registered voters say they are inavor of the united states spending more money on border security while 22 say they oppose doing so. the next most popularctn the country could take is providing humanitarian aid to gaza, which 58% are in favor of and 36 ers opposed. that falls to 5% when asked about providing more funding and military aid to israelnd ukraine, and an even lower number, 53% when it's to support providing more funding and military aid to taiwan. but we should note all of those have the support of majority of americans surveyed. to politics now, the commission on presidential debates has announced the dates and locations for next 's presidential debates. th candidates nominated to lead their party's tickets in the 2024 general election will first meet september 16th at texas state university. the second presidential debate is scheduled for october 1st at virginia state university, and the third will be at the university of utah on october 9th. only one debate is scheduled september 25th in easton, pennsylvania. so far both the biden and trump campaigns have declined to comment on the schedule. let's remember this. last year the republican national committee voted to bar gop candidates from participating in debates organized by the commission after years of former president trump trashing the organization for alleged bias. so unless that is revisited, these debates may not happen at all at least not with this organizer. speaking of trump, he hosted house speaker mike johnson in person for the first time just days after johnson publicly backed trump for president. two sources familiar with the meeting tell nbc news that the two men gathered last night at trump's mar-a-lago estate in palm beach, florida. speaker johnson essentially broke with tradition when he backed trump for president because congressional party leaders typically hold back from endorsing a candidate until after a presumptive nominee is established. but, of course, in 2020 it was johnson that led an amicus brief that was later signed by 100 republicans in support of a texas lawsuit that sought to invalidate the election results in four battleground states won by president joe biden. johnson cast his lot then. meanwhile, a growing number of former top aides to ex-president trump are publicly warning a second trump presidency would be a grave threat to the nation's democracy itself. "the washington post" interviewed 16 former trump advisor who are now speaking out against him publicly. and that includes john kelly, who was the longest serving chief of staff for the former president. kelly tells "the post" that he cannot understand how trump continues to have the support that he enjoys, and that he doesn't know what to do or what he could do to convince voters of the threat trump poses if he were be re-elected. quelly tells the newspaper this. what's going on in the country that a single person thinks this guy would still be a good president when he said the things he said and done the things he's done, it's beyond my comprehension he has t support he has. the retired four-star general contue "i came out and told people the awful thing he said about wounded soldiers, and it didn't have half day's bounce. you had his attorney general bill barr come out and not half a day's bounts. if anything his numbers went up. i think we're in a dangerous zone in our country." others who spoke out against trump to "the post" including former attorney general bill barr, former white house counsel ty cobb, former national security advisor john bolten, former trump pence advisor mark shwart. biden who has been using humor more and more to address questions about his age joked about his birthday at a white house event yesterday. >> i just want you to know it's difficult turning 60, difficult. this is the 76th anniversary of this event, and i want you to know i wasn't there because i was too young to make it up. >> biden also posted this picture on instagram yesterday with the caption reading, quote, thanks for the birthday well wishes today, everybody. turns out on your 146th birthday you run out of space for candles. and i will say for those of you listening on the radio the candles looks like it's on fire or the cakes looks like it's on fire. stressing that his experience, accomplishments as president and stamina to do the job will make him fit for another term. joining us now when you say reporter for "the washington post." tyler, good morning. good to see you. in your latest piece you and your colleagues at the paper interviewed 30 people with connections to the biden campaign. many expressed anxiety over the president's re-election chances. other than concerns about biden's age, which have been well-documented and i've also been writing this week how democrats are divided how to handle that tricky number, beyond his age, what else. >> i think there are a host of issues worrying democrats at this precise moment given we see polls that show trump leading and right now i think the democrats and biden campaign argue it's too early and the campaign will change over the course of the next year. even the fact they're seeing biden losing to trump is enough to send shivers throughout the democratic party. there's the polling, the age, also the direction and message of the re-election campaign. president biden has not held a campaign or kick off event. he's not done a host of campaigning at all, and i think that is a concern for democrats who see trump going around the country campaigning for the nomination very aggressively, and they don't see the same from joe biden. >> yeah, and one argument biden people are making more and more of late is that trump is constantly in our headlines. it's been a long time most americans have listened to him. you and i do every day. this is our job, but a lot of people don't, and they won't start tuning in to him until next year, and they'll see wait a minute this behavior has grown more erratic and perhaps more dangerous. but let's talk about the idea of the biden-esque communicator, biden-esque messengers. as you said the campaign really hasn't kicked off. are democrats worried he may struggle to find and deliver the message democrats need to have out there? >> yeah, i think there's this oscillation between trying to put forward a positive message talking about the president's accomplishments and his record and then attacking trump. democrats want -- some democrats want to see biden go out more aggressively contrasting with trump. jonathan, as you know and have heard the president say many times over the last few years his political phrase of don't compare me to the almighty, compare me to the alternative. and democrats say, okay, we want to see you make that contrast between you and trump more clear. they want him to hone in the election is likely to bea binary choice between biden and trump. and even if you're not satisfied would all of biden's policies, democrats say he's the better choice than trump. he's done that in recent weeks and his campaign has put out statements in paperwork. i think there's this persistent issue they think he doesn't have a clear enough message, a cohesive enough message to drive a narrative about his campaign. >> we'll hear about the efforts his administration is taking to combat the spread of fentanyl. "the washington post" tyler, thank you for joining us. we get into polling but here's one person who's doing really, really well as new polling shows that taylor swift is standing on holy ground in terms of her own popularity. as she wraps up the bruzwrilzen leg of her record breaking heiress tour, the latest nbc news surve shows swift is viewed more positively than any of the leading candidates for the 2024 presidential election. 40% of voters say they have a positive view of the grammy winner while 16% say they have a negative view. president biden and. frankly, just my own anecdoteal survey here, only 40% of people have an approval rating of liking taylor swift? it's not a 95 i think. still ahead here on "way too early" we'll hit some other headlines including a major show of support from ukraine from the biden administration and fears congress will significantly cut funding for the war torn country. also, we'll take a look at the holiday travel rush and a check on the thanksgiving forecast when we come right back. thanksgiving forecast when we come right back ♪ today, my friend you did it, you did it, you did it... ♪ centrum silver is now clinically shown to support cognitive health in older adults. it's one more step towards taking charge of your health. so every day, you can say, ♪ youuu did it! ♪ with centrum silver. it ain't my dad's razor, dad. ay watch it! it's from gillettelabs. this green bar releases trapped hairs from my face... gamechanga! ...while the flexdisc contours to it. so the five blades can get virtually every hair in one stroke. for the ultimate gillette shaving experience. the best a man can get is gillettelabs. - bye, bye cough. - later chest congestion. hello 12 hours of relief. 12 hours!! not coughing? hashtag still not coughing?! mucinex dm gives you 12 hours of relief from chest congestion and any type of cough, day or night. mucinex dm. it's comeback season. ♪ today, my friend you did it, you did it, you did it... ♪ centrum silver is now clinically shown to support cognitive health in older adults. it's one more step towards taking charge of your health. so every day, you can say, ♪ youuu did it! ♪ with centrum silver. in order for small businesses to thrive, they need to be smart, efficient, savvy. making the most of every opportunity. that's why comcast business is introducing the small business bonus. for a limited time you can get up to a $1000 prepaid card with qualifying internet. yep, $1000. so switch to business internet from the company with the largest fastest reliable network and that powers more businesses than anyone else. learn how you can get $1000 back for your business today. comcast business. powering possibilities. welcome back. as we turn to some of the morning's other top headlines. veterinarians across the country are now warning about a mysterious respiratory illness affecting dogs. vet labs in at least four states are investigating the cause of the illness after several cases of infections have led to lasting respiratory disease and pneumonia. symptoms include for the dogs fever, coughing, and lethargy. vets say it's possible for conditions to worsen after 24 to 36 hours leading to hospitalizations and in rare cases even death. dog owners are urged to take extra precaution when kennelling or boarding their pets during the upcoming holiday season to avoid further spread. there are, though, two lucky birds who are thankful today for president biden in a long-standing white house holiday tradition. >> i here by pardon liberty and bell. >> it's a strange tradition, let's be honest, but a fun one. president biden parded two 40-pound turkeys named liberty and bell. the ceremony took place on the south lawn of the white house yesterday. it's part of the 76th annual thanksgiving presentation and pardoning. the event was attended by local school children, members of their cabinet, and kids. liberty and bell shared a luxurious suite at the holiberty hotel in washington up the street. they'll live out the rest of their lives at the university of minnesota. >> even though liberty and bell are from minnesota, they're named for the famous liberty bell in philadelphia and pennsylvania. these birds have a new appreciation of the word "let freedom ring." so i am told by the turkey federation liberty and bell they love honey crisp apples. not bad, huh? ice hockey. i'd sure love to see them play ice hockey. >> he and the first lady will spend thanksgiving in nantucket, massachusetts. and though the president will be traveling on air force one, the rest of us won't be so lucky and severe weather is expected to hit this week. nbc correspondent tom costello has more as airlines brace for record travel demand this thanksgiving. >> reporter: the tsa calls it the 12 days of thanksgiving as more americans travel early and work remotely before and after thursday. >> we get out on a monday and we come right back after before the crowds come. >> reporter: what could slow things town. >> mother nature, of course, is the "x" factor in all of this. >> reporter: if you could fly in the slow season between thanksgiving and christmas, airlines have millions of empty seats to fill. now many are offering cut rate deals as low as $29 one way on southwest. so far this year only 1.3% of flights have been delayed, the lowest in a decade. most blamed on weather and airline issues. but amid record passenger levels, pilot and controller errors have led to 23 high profile near misses this year on runways and in the air. transportation secretary pete buttigieg. is the system right now really being stressed beyond its capacity >> well, demand is growing. it's going to continue to grow, so the system has to grow with it. >> reporter: for this week the faa is opening 159 new fast lanes in the sky as fast flights get priority over priority planes. next here we'll turn to sports and the hoy lights of a very anticipated matchup on monday night football. we'll have that and other highlights for you next on "way too early." hat and other highlights for you next on "way too early. try new robitussin lozenges with real medicine and find your voice. you know? we really need to work on your people skills. i got this $1,000 camera for only $41 on dealdash. dealdash.com, online auctions since 2009. this playstation 5 sold for only 50 cents. this ipad pro sold for less than $34. and this nintendo switch, sold for less than $20. i got this kitchenaid stand mixer for only $56. i got this bbq smoker for 26 bucks. and shipping is always free. go to dealdash.com right now and see how much you can save. hey, you should try new robitussin honey medi-soothers for long-lasting cough and sore throat relief. try new robitussin lozenges with real medicine and find your voice. you know? we really need to work on your people skills. here's a shot from smith. he's got it! they're going to mark him at the one. and you know what the eagles do from here. >> smith's 41-yard reception in the fourth quarter of last night's super bowl rematch between the philadelphia eagles and the kansas city chiefs setup a go ahead tough push touch down, there it is. philly scores. it was the second rushing score of the game for their quarterback, jalen hurts, as philadelphia rallied from 10 points behind at the half on the road. the chiefs, though, still had a chance with less than 2 minutes to play. they converted the fourth down and then got help. a perfectly placed ball from patrick mahomes was dropped by wide open on what whd with have been a 51-yard go ahead with under 2 minutes to go. instead the eagles complete a second half shutout stopping the chiefs on that fourth down-play and put the game away for 21-17 victory. the defense is quite good this year, too. the lack of weapons which you saw there with that receiver drop, that's what could doom them come playoff time, an important win for the eagles. we should note taylor swift not in attendance. she's on tour. following sunday's 32-6 loss to the buffalo bills tim boyle will now take over as quarterback for the new york jets when they take the fields for the inaugural black friday game. >> just given the opportunity all the difference to the quarterback. really give him an opportunity to see what we can do with the offense. >> is trevor going to be the backup? is zack going to be the backup? >> all three will be up on game day. trevor will be the immediate back up. >> that's the jets head coach explaining the move that now makes zack wilson the third straight qb behind trevor simeon as well. wilson the pick in the 2021 draft who take over this season after aaron rogers was injured in the season opener and benched three times by the jets in the last 13 months. time now for the weather and let's go to meteorologist michelle grossman for the holiday weekend travel forecast. >> not looking great. we have a big storm. this is a high impact storm going to impact travel as we go throughout the day. the good news is it's out of here tomorrow but dealing with this lots of rain, the reds, the oranges, the yellows. on the northern side we're seeing some wintery weather and seeing that into the interior north east and new england as we go throughout the day. a wintery mix that makes it tricky to travel. on the tail end of this we're looking at storms. we have the expectation of more tornados as we go throughout the afternoon hours. that would be mainly portions of of alabama into the northern part of florida. that could be as early as this morning. winds gusting up to 16 miles per hour, a few tornados possible. the hail risk is low but we're looking at heavy downpours. detroit, raleigh, charlotte, and atlanta and even possible delays in st. louis, nashville and new york city, and it's going to be a tough day. again, we're looking at the wintery weather on the northern side of the system, so all sorts today and out of here and blustery and windy as we go throughout wednesday. >> we'll keep an eye on it. michelle grossman, thank you very much. still ahead here an update on the gag order in donald trump's federal election interference case. we'll get expert legal analysis on yesterday's hearing and what could come next. 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(laughing) you live with your parents, but you own a house in the metaverse? mhm. cool...i don't get it. here's to getting financially ready for anything! and here's to being single and ready to mingle. who's ready to cha-cha?! ♪ yeah, yeah ♪ welcome back to "way too early." it is exactly 5:30 a.m. here on the east coast, which means it's 2:30 a.m. out west on this tuesday morning. i'm jonathan lemire. thanks for being with us. a three-judge panel on the u.s. court of appeals looks poised to at least narrow the gag order against former president trump in the federal election interference case. now, trump's defense team argued that the gag order, which stops trump from discussing witnesses and prosecutors in the case, violates his constitutional rights. nbc news reports, quote, the judge didn't immediately issue a decision -- the judges i should say -- but they indicated in their questioning that they could leave the gag order in place while narrowing its scope. the panel questioned the trump team's argument that the former president's speech could not be paired back at all regardless of possible threats simply because he's a presidential candidate. >> i don't hear y giving an any weight at all to the inte in a fair trial. and am i right that you don't? that simply because the defendant is a presidential candidate and he wants to speak on anything he wants to speak, d he basically indiscriminately wants to post on social media, that there can be no rnt of his speech? because any restraint no matter how tight a nexus to prog a fair trial is overcome by his campaign interests. >> i emphasize two things in response to that question. one is that the speech at issue and criminal trial are deeply intertwined. >> in one exchange a judge asked trump attorney dejon sour if there was a first amendment concern regarding trump hypothetically calling witnesses and asking for their loyalty. sour responded that would be a violation of his bail conditions. the judge then asked if that changes if trump makes a similar remark on social media or at a political rally. the panel has not yet issued a ruling. if they keep the gag order, trump's lawyers have already said they would escalate the case to the supreme court. joining us now former assistant u.s. attorney for the district of columbia, glenn kershner. he's an nbc news and msnbc legal analyst, and we're always so thrilled when he can join us. glenn, good morning. you were in that courtroom yesterday. give us your impressions of the proceedings and which way you think the judges are leaning. >> yeah, jaupthen, we expected today be there for about 40 minutes. that's how long the argument was scheduled for. we ended up being in the courtroom for about 2 hours and 20 minutes and at times the judges got very animated. indeed the judge got loud a few times. and that's because donald trump's lawyer steadfastly refused to answer her questions and hypotheticals. you know, appellate articles are usually about hypotheticals to test the boundaries about what it is a particular lawyer is advocating for. and as seems to be the case for so many lawyers who sort of stumble into donald trump's orbit, john sour was playing to an audience of one, and that one was not one of the three appellate court judges sitting on that bench. that one was obviously donald trump. john sour kept arguing on behalf of donald trump because of everything he says and does and posts is in his estimation core political speech, there can be no prior restraint. there can be no constitutional gag order limiting that speech, and none of the three judges agreed with that proposition because trial court judges, according to the supreme court, have not only the power but the responsibility to protect and preserve the due administration of justice. because john sour wouldn't answer the question, the judges are really going to be left to fashion their own idea about what a gag order should look like and pass constitutional muster. as you have already said, i think they're going to end up narrowing the scope of the gag order judge chutkan put in place originally. there were some very pointed questions for the attorney on jack smith's team about things like public figures, like when bill barr criticizes donald trump, the judges asked jack smith's prosecutor, shouldn't donald trump have some leeway to be able to spnld to that in a way that is not threatening so it does feel like they're going to leave a gag order in place but perhaps narrow it a little bit to make sure they're not stepping a toe over the sort of first amendment protection line. >> glenn, as noted this is all coming in the backdrop of a presidential campaign, part of the trump team's legal argument. give us your best sense of a time line when do you think this case will go to trial? will it stick to that early spring date? but also the other legal matters we know georgia is now floating for something next summer. what's guess on when the case will actually head to courtrooms? >> i think my best guess is that judge tanya chutkan, i was in court on the front end of this gag order argument when donald trump's lawyers kept trying to push the trial date beyond the date for which its presently set, march 4. and judge chutkan could not have been more definitive when she said this trial date will not lead to an election cycle. i think the only way to the march 4 trial date in d.c. slips at all is if donald trump manages to bubble up the and there's a stay put in place. i think other than that development i think we're going to see the case start on march 4 as judge chutkan has promised. >> glenn kirschner, great to see you, my friend. we'll talk to you again soon. still ahead here cnbc will join us with a look at this morning's business headlines and insights on the markets, which appears slightly down after yesterday's strong gains. that's all straight ahead. t ahe. hey, you should try new robitussin honey medi-soothers for long-lasting cough and sore throat relief. try new robitussin lozenges with real medicine and find your voice. you know? 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[sfx: video game] emergen-c crystals. time now for business, and for that let's welcome cnbc's sylvia amaury who joins us live from london. good morning, good to see you. investors are look ahead to the miss from the federal reserve today. give us a preview of that and how wall street is shaping up in the first hours of the morning. >> well, good morning. at this stage futures are pointing to a muted start, really, in the u.s. equity session. this comes after we saw quite a positive trading day on monday with all three major indices posting -- ending the day on a positive note, really. we actually saw the s&p and nasdaq posting a five-day winning streak. in the minds of the investor, john, it's still the earning season but also of course the federal reserve. recently we have been seeing market players positioning themselves in a way they're expecting the end of this rate hiking cycle, and these fed minutes we're expecting later on today could actually provide further -- could be really a boom to that sentiment as well. >> so here's a fun one. soccer legend lionel messi is of course no stranger to breaking records on the pitch, but now he's about to possibly add another to his remarkable list of accomplishments. sylvia, tell us about it. >> that's right. well, for all the soccer fans out there this is an interesting one. officially six of the shirts that lionel messi wore during the world cup will be on auction. according to the auctioning house essentially they're expecting this could be the most valuable sports memorabilia ever sold at about 10 million u.s. dollars. so this could be a huge one for them. and among those six shirts it is the one that lionel messi wore during the final against france where he actually scored two of the three goals that gave argentina that very important win. >> yeah, one of the best games i've ever watched. an expensive christmas gift to be sure. cnbc's sylvia amaro live from london, thank you for joining us. we appreciate it. still ahead here on "way too early" we'll bring you the new details surrounding hostage negotiations between israel and hamas. what israeli officials now say hamas wants for the exchange or release of 50 women and children. we'll get into that next on "way too early." ildren we'll get into that next on "way too early. unlike some others, it supports 7 brain health indicators, including mental alertness from one serving. to help keep me sharp. try new neuriva ultra. think bigger. sometimes jonah wrestles with falling asleep... ...so he takes zzzquil. the world's #1 sleep aid brand. and wakes up feeling like himself. get the rest to be your best with non-habit forming zzzquil. ♪ ♪ have fun, sis! ♪♪ can't stop adding stuff to your cart? get the bank of america customized cash rewards card, choose the online shopping category and earn 3% cash back. there's something going around the gordon home. good thing gertrude found delsym. now what's going around is 12-hour cough relief. and the giggles. the family that takes delsym together, feels better together. welcome back. as of this moment, there's still no deal in place to release the people held captive in gaza. but both hamas and israel appear optimistic that some sort of agreement could be reached fairly soon. in a statement the leader of hamas said they were, quote, close to reaching a truce agreement with israel but didn't provide any other details. the potential agreement involves a pause in the fighting. it's unclear for how long, but believed to be several days. during that time about 50 stages all women and children would be released in exchange for the same number palestinian women and children who have been imprisoned in . it's believed about 240 people including some americans are being held captive in gaza in inwake of the october 7th terror attacks. now, it's not cle if israel would agree to those terms, but prime minister benjamin netanyahu issued a statement last night saying his government is committed toringing the hostages home. meanwhile, here in the u.s., president biden said he remains optimistic that a deal could be reached soon. >> mr. president, is a hostage deal near? >> i believe so. >> you believe so? >> yes. >> how soon? >> the president crossed his fingers as he answered, yes. joining us now national security correspondent for "the wall street journal" nancy wrash great to see you this morning. give us what you're hearing from your sources on the latest hostage negotiations. do we know how long this pause would be and when it might happen. >> reporter: so this morning we've heard more and more reports we could be hearing an announcement as early as today potentially for a five-day pause in fighting for several hours, suspension of all fighting in the south, and most of it in the north in exchange for 50 women and children being held in gaza. as you mentioned in exchange for the same number of palestinians. this is the first time that we've heard from leaders from hamas that they think that a deal is close, ahe signals are that we uld be seeing an announcement. and i think there's a hop that if this happens and it's successful, it could set the stage for future deals to release remaining hostages held in gaza. >> nancy, you've always got new reporting on intelligence that u.s. officials have obtained that shows hamas is operating out of or beneath gaza's main hospital, which has been israel's claim all along. tell us more about that. >> so as you know, the israelis injured al-shifa hospital which was the largest hospital in gaza and said this was a major command and control node. in the run up to that for the first time the united states said they also had intelligence independent of what the israelis had that the hospital was being used by hamas. what's interesting is the type of intelligence the u.s. has. remember that since 2005 or '6 the u.s. hasn't been collecting as much intelligence on gaza as it has in previous years really depending on the israelis. and there are no u.s. ground troops that is in gaza, and so what the u.s. is depending on is signals intelligence, interceptions of conversations happening. and in those conversations, the u.s. said that it heard hamas operators near that compound, but they didn't know the degree to which those were being used, how many hamas fighters, or the number of hostages held. what we saw coming out of the hospital after the israelis entered i think also then raised questions about the degree to which the hospital was used. remember that in the run up to israel entering the hospital they said it was the focus of hamas operations, but so far we haven't seen evidence to that. while there are have been ak-47s, rocket tanks and other equipment found, there isn't anything to indicate tathis is the central hub of hamas operation. >> there's a perhaps it's been relocated. nancy, lastly, give us a sense from your contacts here in the u.s. and overseas, just the level of concern from officials, just about the death toll we're seeing now in gaza among palestinian civilians, and what message is the u.s. trying to send israel about it? >> well, it is an important question because i think the number of civilians for some is really a concrete metric about the proportionality and responsibility for the fighting in gaza. that is, that number is a reflection of how the war is being conducted and the impact it's having. so u.s. officials are watching those numbers, but there's some question about the reliability of them. in the absence of any sort of innocent report in the u.s. is depending on numbers that are coming from gaza, which puts it around 13,000 in the span of five or six weeks. particularly as israel thinks about moving south, how does israel reduce those civilian casualties which have become really a visual display of sort of how much this war is impacting civilians, how much civilians are feeling the impact. israel says that hamas has put those civilians in that position by using civilian sites as cover for their own operations. >> you're right to raise questions about the reliability of the numbers coming from the gaza authorities, but some independent organizations have said they're fairly close. certainly, images have been so terrible to see. "the wall street journal"'s nancy yusef, thank you for your reporting. we appreciate it. up next on "way too early," we'll get into defense secretary austin's unannounced visit to kyiv, spending the day visiting with ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy. coming up on "morning joe," brand-new nbc news polling shows what americans across party lines are saying about funding for the southern border. as lawmakers weigh aid for america's allies at war. plus, we'll bring you live reporting from israel on the very latest on those hostage negotiations, and an exclusive look at the country's use of drone warfare to target hamas. former israeli ambassador to the united states, michael oren, will join the conversation. also ahead, democratic senator chris coons will be a guest. "morning joe" just a few moments away. 12 hours!! not coughing? hashtag still not coughing?! mucinex dm gives you 12 hours of relief from chest congestion and any type of cough, day or night. mucinex dm. it's comeback season. ♪ today, my friend you did it, you did it, you did it... ♪ centrum silver is now clinically shown to support cognitive health in older adults. it's one more step towards taking charge of your health. so every day, you can say, ♪ youuu did it! ♪ with centrum silver. welcome back. secretary of defense lloyd austin made a surprise visit to ukraine yesterday, meeting with that country's president, volodymyr zelenskyy, nearly 21 months after russia invaded. in their discussions, president zelenskyy told austin that the visit was a very important signal for ukraine. while there, the pentagon head announced $100 million in new military aid and pledged long-term support from the u.s. the latest package of aid includes anti-tank weapons, anti-aircraft missiles, ammunition, and gear for the impending winter. joining us now, bloomberg politics editor laura davidson. great to see you this morning. pentagon officials have had to meter out, in their words, their ukrainian assistance because stockpile of weapons dwindling, but also funds dwindling. we now that, right now, there is no deal in congress to send more money to ukraine. what's the latest there, and what is the level of concern, both here in washington and in kyiv, that the u.s. is simply not going to be able to send what it wants? >> the concern is very high, both at the white house as well as among european allies, that ukraine simply going into the winter will not have what they need to fend off the russians. the u.s., so far, sent about $44 billion. russia controls about a fifth of ukraine, and this $100 million is a drop in the bucket from what the ukrainians and other military experts say that they would need to be able to really credibly take on the russians. the question is, will congress act? if so, how soon? they left for the thanksgiving holiday without passing any ukraine aid. they did, however, manage to fund the government, so that's at least a positive sign that congress might be able to come together with a deal. there are still deep divisions in the house, in particular, about if ukraine should be supported at all. there's other things on the table that congress is also looking at, aid for taiwan, aid for israel, aid for the border. this is the question of, you know, can they come together, cobble together a deal before the new year? once congress heads into 2024, they face several deadlines where the government funding, domestic funding will lapse, and that'll likely distract them for several weeks. >> precisely right, there's a growing sense this needs to get done in the next couple weeks or it won't at all. you mentioned the priorities of the congress and the white house. you have a piece saying it's biden's juggling act, putting border ahead of ukraine and israel. >> when it comes to voters, and that's what the biden campaign is concerned about and interested, it is more domestic spending for the u.s./mexico border. that's an issue resonating with folks. one of the things the biden campaign and the white house are wrestling with is the fact that voters tend to focus more on domestic issues. the economy, immigration. they're less focused on what's happening overseas. that's not what drives voters to the polls. they're having to manage both these international conflicts and crises while seeing very concerning polling numbers, particularly in key swing states at home. >> lastly, tell us about that. with the biden campaign team, how they feel about where things stand right now in the race. the usual caveats, we're nearly a year out. a lot of things can change between now and then, including criminal trials for donald trump, biden's likely opponent. how do you feel right now ahead of the thanksgiving weekend? >> they feel okay, but these series of polls, particularly in states like michigan, pennsylvania, arizona, where biden is down, is very concerning to them. you see them starting to pivot some in their messaging. they rolled out the whole bidenomics idea, which is all these things from semiconductors to infrastructure and all these things, renewable energy, electric vehicles. they're starting to drill down on those more, specifically focusing on things like infrastructure. those are things they hope voters will notice at home, that the bridge is fixed, the wi-fi is faster. it's really, you know, we're a year out still. we'll see if that resonates. when you look at what voters say they think biden has done, he really doesn't get a lot of credit for the various bills he's passed during his presidency. >> the biden team also believes when americans start really hearing donald trump again next year, they'll take note of his own age, his own erratic behavior, and dangerous plans for the future. bloomberg politics editor, laura davidson, thank you for being with us. thanks to all of you for getting up "way too early" on this tuesday morning. "morning joe" starts right now. by the way, it's my birthday today. they actually sang "happy birthday" to me. i'll say, it is difficult turning 60, difficult. 76th anniversary of this event, and i want you to know, i w