Romney and President Biden making jokes about donald trump. There was a lot to go around yesterday. Mitt romney, wow. Bring it home, willie. Yeah, mitt romney going in there, obviously no love lost between those two men. Mitt romney, expect to hear more of that throughout the campaign. Expert legal analysis on yesterdays testimony in the Hush Money Trial and the Gag Order Against Trump. Straight ahead. President bidens joke came while he was campaigning in florida. On the issue of Reproductive Rights and Womens Health care, blaming trump for Overturning Roe and these extreme Abortion Laws. Well show you more of the president s speech. Quite a flex going down to florida while trump was stuck in court in New York City. On capitol hill, a Top Republican admits its trumps fault that Border Security hasnt passed. We knew that. To hear this republican say it really brings it home. Willie, i had the news on all day, if i heard the word pecker one more time, i was going to lose my mind. David pecker. The first witness in the new york case. All right, good morning, everybody. Welcome to morning joe. Its wednesday, april 24th. Along with willie and me we have a member of the the New York Times Editorial Board maya and sam stein. Our top story has to do with pecker. I think youre enjoying saying his name. Testimony in Donald Trumps Hush Money Criminal Trial is scheduled to resume tomorrow after several Key Developments in court yesterday. First, the judge held a hearing at the start of tuesdays proceedings on whether the former president had violated his gag order. Prosecutors have asked the judge to fine him 1,000 for each violation. Trumps attorney said he hasnt violated the order. He was, quote, being careful about complying with the order. But the judge expressed extreme frustration with that argument, telling his attorney saying, quote, losing all credibility with the court. Any violation of the gag order in articles he repost to social media is unintentional. If i read every one of these articles in complete, ill look at headlines, all good headlines, the case is a sham. I cant read the whole thing. This is like reading a novel. So i put an article and somebodys name is mentioned. I end up in violation of the gag order. So he says hes innocently reposting things that in violate the gag order. Lets bring in lisa rubin and former u. S. Attorney and msnbc contributor Barbara Mcquaid. Lisa, clearly the judge yesterday very frustrated had enough of the argument from the defense team that donald trump doesnt mean to be posting these things but somehow hes not posting the whole article so its not bad. Where do you think this is finding in. A finding on contempt. With what remedy. At this point the d. A. s office was very clear, theyre not seeking any term in jail for trump, one of two alternatives under the criminal contempt statute here in new york. Expect to see a Written Opinion by judge merchand. One of things that the d. A. s office pointed out that was really savvy was to show in addition to these Offensive Posts trump has talked about the gag order including a video he posted to truth social fairly recently. Saying trump knows exactly what he can and cannot do under the gag order. Hes posted about the judge, about the process as a whole as he understands full well, dont flout the gag order. Again, expect to see a Written Opinion from the judge in the next couple of days. That fines donald trump anywhere from 5,000 to 10,000, also orders him to take the Offensive Posts down with a warning the next violation will result in something far worse. Barbara, you get the sense that hes testing this judge. Hold me in contempt for violating the gag order. He goes outside to the bank of cameras and violates the gag order. This ruling comes down and its 8,000 or how many counts of violation of the gag order, is that a step toward Something Else, im not sure 7,000 is going to deter donald trump . Yes, i think that most judges like to use progressive discipline, that is, your first violation will get you one fine of subsequent violation may get you a higher fine, this judge has the power to judge donald trump for up 30 days, it seems like donald trump is trying to bait the judge here, perhaps demonstrate to his supporters that hes Above The Law and get away with anything he wants to, on the other hand if you do jail donald trump that fulfills his prophecy, a witch hunt, try to curtail his election efforts and interfere with the election. If i were the judge id do follow the advice of janet reno, youre damned if you do and damned if you dont. Do the best thing. Litigant who repeatedly violated a gag order would find themselves jailed. Thats the risk donald trump faces. Testimony resumed with david pecker returning to the witness stand for a second day. Hes the former ceo of American Media incorporate, the Parent Company of the National Enquirer. Pecker revealed he was present at Donald Trumps 2015 Campaign Announcement at trump tower and said former Trump Attorney cohen told him he should be there. Three months later the three men had a meeting. Prosecutions alleged thats when the Election Scheme hatch. Pecker told trump and cohen he would be their quote eyes and ears on stories that could be damaging to trump. He would run positive stories about trump and run negative stories about his opponents. The articles included stories about thentrump rivals and now allies senators ted cruz and marco rubio and ben carson. Pecker said cohen would call and say, wed like you to run an an article on a specific target. The enquirer would embellish it from there. The we cohen referred to, pecker said he understood it to me cohen and trump. Barbara, can you go back to what is the law that prosecutors are trying to prove that trump broke, or what is the crime that trump committed, that hes sitting there in court for and how does peckers Testimony Help corroborate that in any way . Of course, the law here is falsification of Business Records to conceal the commission of another crime, i think what the prosecutors have done thats very helpful is to start with the crime and talk about the false my case of the Business Records as the coverup. So here, the crime is a statute under new york law, 17152 that makes it a crime to conspire to promote or prevent the election to any office by unlawful means. Campaign expenditures without the intent to report them. Cohen paid 130,000. National enquirer paid 30,000 and 120,000 to Karen Mcdougal. Those payments make this illegal. Crime is committed. Its enough they falsified with the intent to do that but theyve also got that evidence of Illegal Campaign expenditures. It extended all the way through the election and beyond throughout this coverup. So, lisa, im curious about i know this is sort of looking at sort of the exterior things, in the courtroom just the demeanor of trump and just watching this closely from home, seeing him coming into court from the beginning i feel like, i dont want to overstate it, he seems very subdued, his colorful personality is almost turned gray if i could, i just wonder if its the walking in and having to sit down, cameras in his face, arch enemies in his courtroom every day, is it getting to him or the case itself bothering him in david pecker sitting there and everybody asking david pecker or talking on the air about questions about what david pecker knows, im thinking its possible that david pecker has a few more secrets about donald trump than the ones that are being discussed. I think youre absolutely right, i expect david pecker to be on the stand through the end of the week. I think the prosecution has at least several more hours of direct testimony with david pecker. First of all, we left off yesterday with the beginning of the Karen Mcdougal settlement, that means we have to talk through that story, the Stormy Daniels settlement and the enquirers involvement in that. As you mentioned, through 2017 when we know that david pecker saw trump at least twice where he was thanked by trump for his contributions to the election. As you noted a lot of conversations still to testify to. David pecker testified yesterday to at least two conversations directly with donald trump. That august 2015 meeting that trump and cohen invited him to, when he got to, what can you do for us in relation to the campaign . What can you personally do . What can the enquirer do . He also talk about a conversation on the phone with donald trump when Karen Mcdougal surfaced. Michael has told me about karen, what do you think . We know from david peckers beginning testimony he talked to trump once he became a candidate at least once a week by phone and saw him in person once a month. Whats notable about that, he saw and talked to trump more after he became a candidate than he did before. Usually when people run for president of the United States and become a pay jar Party Nomination they have less time for the other people in their life as theyre blanketing the trail. The Check Book Journalism that was laid out in full display in the courtroom. Definitely when i was growing up, youre younger, going to the Grocery Store with my mom there was National Enquirer, crazy pictures of famous people and crazy stories, is the theme here is that enquirer could move the meter on the way people think, do people see this as journalism, is this surprising to the jury. One of the most disturbing parts as a journalist of this case to me, david peckers description is Checkbook Journalism. I wouldnt call It Journalism at all. Generally you dont pay for stories. Thats not how journalists operate when theyre ethical. But the thing about the National Enquirer, number one, its a throwback. I do think it feeds into, you know, what youre talking about which is, you used to see it at the Grocery Store before you checked out and youd say, gee, i wonder if thats true. The hallmark of what donald trump does and he instructs those around him to express doubt to plant a seed whether its conspiracy or a lie and allow it to blossom kind of naturally, so that seems to be what he was doing by using david pecker and i just wonder, lisa, i wonder if you could talk about the defenses case here, do they have a leg to stand on . They do. And they dont. One of the things that theyve said Nondisclosure Agreements are perfectly lawful, influencing an election assed to plan chard said its perfectly lawful, its called democracy. Yes, in isolation. To put them to a purpose that this has been put to, in other words to influence an election by not reporting in kind or Actual Campaign contributions essentially, is not lawful. So, i think their best defense is to distant donald trump from the coverup and where the d. A. s own evidence seems weakest at least in terms of direct evidence. They have a ton of direct evidence about the formation of the conspiracy and Donald Trumps knowledge to carry those out. You saw this in listening closely to the d. A. s Opening Statement when it comes to how it was papered over, yes, donald trump signed some checks, can they show on the other hand that donald trump knew exactly what he was paying Michael Cohen for and understood that without relying entirely on Michael Cohen . That remains a little bit to be seen. Thats part of the case im most looking forward to. The most important part of the case because thats the crime as barbara note td, they have to prove that he falsified Business Records. Connect those dots. They have to prove that. Sam, it was a bit reliving the 2016 campaign yesterday. Ted cruzs father being involved somehow in the jfk assassination. To mikas question, whether its all a joke, we all laughed at those headlines as a kid at the Grocery Store. Theres some element of reliving all this, which is part of what the Biden Campaign is hoping through all these cases that people will be reminded of how exhausting and how full of lies the trump years, the Trump Campaign and the Trump Presidency were. Yeah, first of all, im surprised that maura would slander the publications good name. Theyve broken a few amount of alien love child. Does mika have a clause in her contract if she mentions david peckers name a number of times, a bonus kicks in. Back on script, look, the meta story here, you have biden on the trail, talking about abortion, campaigning, doing sort of the nuts and bolts of politics, very conventional. Then you have trump in a courtroom, hes distracted, hes embroiled in Tabloid Controversy of his own making, so that contrast is obviously something that the Biden Campaign welcomes. I will just say, were talking about the defense here, id ask this of barbara, too, i actually think the defense is fairly easy here, right, which is this man david pecker ran the National Enquirer, which literally made up stories and peddled lies, why should we believe that hes telling the truth now, same with Michael Cohen, hes admitted in prior iterations that he lied, why should we believe anything he says now, that to me, barbara, seems a powerful defense, theyre admitted liars, in disinformation, you shouldnt believe what they have to say, what should the prosecution do with that. Often times a prosecutor needs to use as a witness somebody who was a criminal association as a defendant. The common statement is to say, i didnt choose the witnesses the defendant did by associating with them very closely. The key is of course is to find Corroborating Evidence so the jury doubt have to take their word for it. Well hear from people like hope hicks and other people who worked for the Trump Organization, well see documents in the forms of checks, and ledgers, well hear that recording between Michael Cohen and donald trump about setting up essential consultant consultants. You can see it coming for david pecker, for sure, its coming for Michael Cohen and if she testifies it will be coming for Stormy Daniels as well. Very often the corroboration is enough to rehabilitate those witnesses. All right, former u. S. Attorney Barbara Mcquaid and msnbc Legal Correspondent lisa rubin, thank you. The Senate Passed the 95 billion foreign aid package last night. Well show you what leaders from both sides of the aisle are saying about the critical funding for ukraine. Plus, the latest from Columbia University amid heated protests on campus in response to the israel gaza war, how the fbi is getting involved to prevent violence. Also this morning, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is our guest. Youre watching morning joe. Were back in 60 seconds. An alternative to pills, voltaren is a clinically proven arthritis pain relief gel, which penetrates deep to target the source of pain with nonsteroidal antiinflammatory medicine directly at the source. Voltaren, the joy of movement. President biden was on the Campaign Trail Yesterday in Donald Trumps home state. The president gave a speech on Reproductive Rights. One week before floridas sixweek abortion ban goes into effect. Six weeks. He blamed trump for the repeal of roe v. Wade and extreme Abortion Laws across the country. For 50 years, the court ruled that there was a fundamental constitutional right to privacy. But two years ago, that was taken away. Lets be real clear, theres one person responsible for this nightmare and hes acknowledged it and he brags about it donald trump. Now trump says the law is quote working the way its supposed to. Trump goes on individual state laws are working, his words, brilliantly. Brilliantly. Its a sixweek ban in florida. Really brilliant, isnt it . Even before a woman know theyre pregnant. Is that brilliant . He says its up to the states. This is all about states rights. Hes wrong, the Supreme Court was wrong. It should be a constitutional right in the federal constitution, a federal right. It shouldnt matter where in america you live. This isnt about states rights. Its about womens rights. Joining us now is susan page, author of the new book The Rulebreaker. I cant wait, susan, congratulations on the book. I just want to ask about joe biden in florida, first, the flex of that, donald trump is stuck in a New York City courtroom, talking about his relationship with head of the National Enquirer david pecker and stories they tried to move along to try and defame people or at least get people to think badly of them, stories that might tried to hide, the whole thing is gross, its seedy, and it might be even more surprising to people as to how that all works. There you have joe biden in a state thats going to be pretty hard to flip blue, but perhaps a sixweek ban could give the Biden Campaign a fighting chance, can you talk about that ban and how its not just Reproductive Rights and choice but its also well see the health of women in florida severely impacted by a ban like this. We know women overwhelmingly in this country think thats unreasonable limitation on the access of abortion. Republican women, too. Its hard to imagine that democrats carry florida in november but its not hard to imagine that Women In Georgia and North Carolina and arizona and elsewhere were listening to the president yesterday and nodding their heads in agreement when he talking about that florida ban, mika. Maura, what do you make of joe biden in florida especially his comments on reproductive freedom. I think first of all its a flex and its a reminder to donald trump, its essentially joe biden saying to dx d. , you cant escape this. I think donald trump has been hes talked out both sides of his mouth, said that the dobbs ruling is working as it should. Other times hes said certain states have gone too far. Women in america and voters in america know exactly who it is put the Supreme Court justices in place, who, you know, ultimately struck down roe v. Wade and i think its going to be very difficult for the Republican Party and donald trump to escape that responsibility. But the thing that biden is capitalizing on is that women across are extremely motivated by this. Its not just about florida, people in michigan who are looking at this, oh yeah, thats right. Im very angry. This is a hugely motivating issue. This is not a red state blue state issue, americans are furious over this. Sam, as mika said, the Biden Campaign concedes florida is a long shot but its worth going there. To broadcast to the country this is what donald trump has wrought and donald trump has been tied in knots on this issue. Lets send this back to states. Joe biden goes to florida, heres what happens when you send it back to the states. Theyre going to hammer this point all the way through november. Totally. Let me just add to what maura said, you know, this is not something thats going to go away not just because joe biden will go to florida or Kamala Harris will go to arizona hey look whats happening in your states. Because theres going to be actual Important News breaks on this issue. In arizona for instance, the legislation will likely consider a bill to overturn that. Today at the Supreme Court the first hearing for a challenge of a law in idaho that prohibits Emergency Abortion abortions in emergency medical situations that decision will likely be held before the election, theres a number of other decisions and a number of other initiatives that will take place before november, not to mention the Ballot Initiatives that will take place on election day, this isnt like one of these things where joe biden has manufacture it into existence. And multiple Inflection Points well talk about it because Something Big happening legislatively or in the court system. This is an issue, this is the kind of health care that doesnt do politics. Republican and democrats in florida, women who need health care are going to find themselves in a bind. To say the least. Whether theyre pregnant or not, whether they need a termination or not, maybe they have fibroids, there will be procedurals they cant get, thanks to donald trump. This is on trump. In florida, you know, between donald trump and ron desantis, youve got a team there that really made a landscape for women thats down right dangerous and republican women and the men who love them are going to find themselves having to leave the state just to get basic health care, thanks to donald trump. So, susan, lets talk about your new book, it focuses on The Life And Times of legendary broadcast journalist Barbara Walters, back in 1980 walters was granted a relatively rare interview with richard nixon, following his resignation from the presidency years earlier at the very end of their nearly hourlong talk, walters asked nixon this. In just a few seconds we have left now, time for a yes or no, are you sorry that you didnt burn the tapes . You know interestingly enough, everyone in europe i talked to said, why didnt you burn the tapes . The answer is, i probably should have but mainly i shouldnt have installed them. Because johnsons system was there youd burn them in. Yes. I think so. Because they were private conversations. Subject to misinterpretation as we have all seen. Susan page, talk about that book, that moment and some other captivating revelations about the trail blazer for us all. Such a classic Barbara Walters question in eight words she managed to put a former president on the spot. The kind of question that she would have worked on for weeks and weeks beforehand. You know, mika, the thing that struck me about Barbara Walters is, she became incredibly famous, i think its easy to forget how hard it was for her to get there. The price she paid. Things are a whole lot different for women in broadcasting, women if journalism than it was for Barbara Walters. Lot of that credit goes to Barbara Walters. Yes. For sure. Susan, you kind of led me to my question, im thinking back to when Barbara Walters, in the early 1960s got a job as researcher at nbc. They called her a today girl, can you speak for a generation who knows her name and has seen her face and watches old clips and understand that shes famous and a significant figure just how important she was as a role model, as an example not just for women but for all of us in this business . She didnt have a model. No woman had done she proposed to do and she didnt have a mentor. She was there on her own. When she got to be on today and participate in interviews with frank mcgee, frank mcgee set a rule, a stated rule that she could not speak until he had asked the first three questions. Now, can you imagine that . Whoa. Yet she took that in a way she took lemons and made lemonade. She set up interviews outside the interview. So that she could ask all the questions in the interview. Thats amazing. The new book is entitled The Rulebreaker. Susan page, thanks so much for coming on this morning and congratulations on the book. Amazing. Coming up, another labor union is set to endorse President Biden today. Well be joined by the groups leader who says donald trump broke the promises he made while in the white house to them. Plus the Senate Just Passed a package of foreign aid bills which includes critical funding for ukraine and Minority Leader Mitch Mcconnell is blaming two people for the long delay in getting it approved. Well play for you his comments on that. Morning joe will be right back. Ll oh, yeah, man. Take it from your inner child. What you really need in life is some freakin torque. What . The dodge hornet r t. The totally torquedout crossover. [coughing] copd isnt pretty. Im out of breath, and often out of the picture. But this is my story. and with oncedaily trelegy, it can still be beautiful. 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At a white house meeting in january of 2017, the head of north americas Building Trades union praised thenPresident Donald Trump for committing to improve the lives of labor workers. We just had probably the most incredible meeting of our careers with the president , the Vice President and the senior staff, when the president laid out his plans about how hes going to handle trade, how hes going to invest in our infrastructure and level the Playing Field for Construction Workers and all americans across this country and then took the time to take everyone into the oval office and show them the seat of power in the world. The respect the president of the United States just showed us and showed to 3 million of our members in the United States was nothing short of incredible. Well, that was then and this is now. One thing to say something, another thing to do it. Fast forward to today where the nabtu is endorsing President Bidens campaign and launching a nationwide effort to keep trump from ever returning to the white house. In a statement and accompanying video the groups president said trump broke those promises he made to Union Leaders when he first took office. Youre promising America Tonight you would never abuse power as retribution against anybody. Except for day one. Donald trump, hes not a good man, hes not a good person, he doesnt care about anybody in this world, except donald trump. Thats it. Thats all. Very clear and present danger. Now hes looking to get into that position again to exert revenge on people. I go back to the 80s with donald trump and him trying to get his mug on page six of the new york post. The only difference between the donald trump of the 80s and today, he feels free to let his Dark Side Out and very, very dangerous for this country. We cant let our Democracy Dis he personally committed to me get our pensions fixed. He assured me, im the president of the United States, ill just call mitch and put it in the bill. That was wasted breath. There were lots of other things put in that bill, tax cuts put in that bill for rich people. Donald trump promised infrastructure every year. Infrastructure is the easiest of all. Donald trump was not interested in any of the policy that actually goes along with being president of the United States. Trump was interested in the pomp and circumstance, the plane, the helicopter, its all about him. Donald trump is incapable of running anything, let alone the most powerful country in the History Of The World and god help us if he gets anywhere near that white house in the future. Sean mcgarvey joins us now. Thank you very much for coming on the show this morning. That was a pretty powerful video and a real turnaround from when you first endorsed former President Trump or at least listen to him and hoped his promises would come true, what do you say to hardworking americans who dont have time to, you know, clue in on every detail of every trial hes involved in or every promise he made to support trump almost blindly but they connect with him, even members of your union, what do you say to them about who this man is . Well, quite honestly, were not going to waste a lot of time talking to every american who Support Donald Trump. Because were not going to change their minds. What were going to concentrate is 10 to 15 of our members we can have a conversation with and explain to them the facts, give them the projects theyre working on, the way theyre feeding their families today. Three monumental pieces of legislation, after he saved our pensions that are now creating the biggest Infrastructure Boom this country has ever seen, we call it the Infrastructure Generation that joe bidens creating and in our opinion its the only time in history we can compare to is when the g. I. S came back from saving the world from tyranny and came back to build a middle class and their own lives, thats kind of the scale that were at right now with the most proUnion President that this country, proworker president this country has ever seen, so thats the conversations that were having, well have them oneonone, well have them in the key states and weve got months and months. We already started. Were already laying out the facts and were seeing the results. Sean, good morning. Wering looing at this list of other unions that have endorsed the president. Youre not alone. As you say in that ad, it became a punch line to the trump years it was infrastructure week, he was about to get to infrastructure, spend that trillion dollars he promised you he was going to spend on infrastructure, which never gave, november 2021, President Biden is in the white house, 1. 2 trillion bipartisan Infrastructure Bill that went out the door and you can see the signs all over the country, when you say biden is the most proUnion President in history thats a huge claim, what makes you say that . Well, we can say that by not only by the legislation he passed and the language that ensures those jobs will be good, middleclass sustaining jobs from Construction Jobs, the labor standards involved in those jobs via the Raeg La Toir Work thats been done that was passed in the legislation, we know that, these are going to be good middle class family sustaining jobs. Mike barnacle joins the table now. Sean, that was a pretty good definitive outline you had in that spot we just watched. You clearly know the members of your union, but tell me, whats your instinct, why do so many of the Union Members you represent still have a cultural hold on donald trump and want to vote for him . Well, i think quite honestly, my membership reflects the country, so that base of support that donald trump has, that 25 or 30 of people that would stay with him for whatever reason are going to stay with him and that quite honestly to us in our history doesnt matter to a winning or losing candidate, what matters is the 15 of people who are persuadable, open to hearing the facts and making up their own mind with them and their family around the Kitchen Table and saying, you know what, our lives have changed for the better because of the work that joe biden and Kamala Harris have done. Well change our mind in how we vote this time. Forget the baggage, all the threats, lot of our members are patriots and they dont like the way the expresident is talking about what hes going to do if hes elected to another term. We want whats best for this country and not just for the Building Trades but for the whole of the country. We know that joe biden and Kamala Harris have led us Out Of The Wilderness through the pandemic and created opportunities we havent seen since world war ii. Stick with the pocketbooks, what do you fear most, what do you hope for most and what do your members think is the biggest priority for voting for joe biden . Its jobs and rising wages quite honestly and control some of the costs associated with being a family in the United States. Weve negotiated our greatest increases in the last couple of years under joe biden. Weve seen some of the biggest contracts negotiated with the most generous settlements that weve seen in decades and decades if you take u. P. S. Or the uaw, the same thing is happening around our bargaining table. They see themselves moving forward economically now. Backing up, the jobs are so abundant, today when the president is done well give you him a pair pof customized work boots because we have so many jobs, when we get short we might call 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and say, we need for a few days on a Infrastructure Project. You came out and endorsed President Biden, then candidate biden in october 2020 just a few weeks before the election, this time youre doing it more than six months out. The question is now, okay, youve made this statement, what does it look like practically on the ground in a state like pennsylvania or wisconsin, knocking on doors spending money, what does the next six months look like . Well probably send tens of millions of dollars in three states, well have an army of people that are members of our unions that will talk to other members of the unions and lay out the facts. How you vote is a personal individual thing. We just want to make sure our people are armed with the right information. Once we give our members the information, theyre very smart people theyll make the right decision. They just need the information. Well provide the information in oneonone, small groups, union meetings, where we gather across the battlefwroubd states. Through some of the work weve done in field, you know, were changing hearts and minds. Theyre going, my god, i didnt realize my job was created by the bipartisan Infrastructure Bill. Great increases if our collective bargaining. Another thing, i dont think its an accident the great work of the uaw winning an election in tennessee the most powerful man in the world, the president of the United States for the past 3 1 2 years has talked about unions, unions and unions. And people having their ability to stake their claim for what theyre worth. Hes giving workers in this Country Confidence that theyre worth it and they should demand it and i see great things and huge Organizing Wins that we have had and ones that are coming based on support of the president of the United States. Hes making a huge difference. The only person we can compare him to is fdr and the difference between fdr and oweden was at this point was fdr was he did great things for working people in this country, he wasnt interested in spending any time with him. Joe biden is just as comfortable in a cafeteria in a Manufacturing Facility Eating with workers or on a Construction Site when its 5 degrees. Thats the difference. Hes probably more comfortable there. Sean mcgarvey, thank you very much for coming on the show this morning and making the case. Really appreciate it. Sam stein, the video we just saw of President Biden i believe on the line with union workers, the first president whos done that, hes gotten a lot of endorsements in the past few weeks from unions across the country, hes visiting swing states, hes visiting florida, part of campaigning is being there and delivering the results. Then owning your accomplishments and thats what joe biden is doing day by day, slowly but surely while donald trump sits in a courtroom, do you think this could make the difference especially with the contrast at hand . Yeah, i mean, i think everything helps on the margins. To seans point, the image of him on the line at the uaw plant in michigan it was indeed the first time a president has ever done that. Thats historic. These things dont happen in a vacuum, they happen because of the support of the president and you know he better or worse earned the endorsements hes getting. Theyll matter on the margins. I will say what stood out to me in the interview and in the ad that the Building Trades union is airing, the first thing they focused on in that ad was not the legislation that biden has passed it was on the temperament on trump and the threat that he poses and sean mentioned that in his interview, look, this is a threat to democracy and im sure thats deliberate. I think they know that its not just that the pensions are shored up and wages may be rising again, temperamentally they want someone differently in the white house. Still ahead, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg will join us with a big announcement regarding Airline Refunds and hidden fees. There are so many. What this now means for consumer protections. Plus, Author Salman Rushdie will be with us as he reflects on the knife attack. Knife atta. Voices of people with cidp cidp disrupts. Cidp derails. Lets be honest. All cidp sucks voices of people with cidp but living with cidp doesnt have to. When you sign up at shiningthroughcidp. Com, youll find inspiration in real patient stories, helpful tips, reliable information, and more. Cidp can be tough. But finding hope just got a little easier. Sign up at shiningthroughcidp. Com. All be heard. Be hopeful. Be you. This is our future, ma. Godaddy airo. Creates a logo, website, even social posts. In minutes how . A. I. impressed ay i like it who wants to come see the future . get your Business Online in minutes with godaddy airo on his way out of the courthouse, Grover Cleveland stopped to tell reporters how uncomfortably cold it is in the room and how very unhappy he is to be there. Hes keeping me in courtroom thats freezing by the way, keeping me in a courtroom all day long, while hes out campaigning, probably an advantage. Youre about two Put Two Prison Sentences together. Oh, my. Welcome back to morning joe. I didnt see that coming. Joining us the conversation we have u. S. Special correspondent for bbc news katty kay. And host of the fast politics podcast, molly jongfast. The first Witness For The Prosecution in Donald Trumps criminal Hush Money Trial returned to the stand yesterday, lets get a wrapup of what happened with senior Legal Correspondent Laura Jarrett. Reporter mr. Trumps longtime friend david pecker the former publisher of the National Enquirer offering the jury a rare glim intoops the underworld of Tabloid Tactics as the state seeks to prove that the former doctored his documents just days before the 2016 election. Pecker describing a meeting at trump tower in 2015 with mr. Trump and his former fixer Michael Cohen where pecker said he agreed to serve as the eyes and ears for rumors that could hurt donald trump. What i would do is publish positive stories about trump and publish negative stories about his opponents. A series of glowing headlines about thenCandidate Trump and derogatory ones making baseless claims of his opponents like ted cruz. Pecker admitting that enquirer made up a story linking cruzs father to the man who assassinated jfk. Trying to save mr. Trump and the campaign the potential embarrassment. The day began with the judge taking the defense team to task about mr. Trumps posts on social media. Targeting cohen and Stormy Daniels. The state seeking to hold mr. Trump in contempt. So they can talk about me, they can lie, but im not allowed to say anything. Reporter in court the defense arguing that mr. Trump should be permitted to respond to political attacks and the gag order should not cover reposts of someone else, the judge didnt rule telling lead Defense Attorney todd blanche youre losing all credibility with the court. Minutes later during a break, donald trump back on truth social falsely writing that the judge had taken away his right to free speech. Nbcs Laura Jarrett reporting for us there. Lets bring in Andrew Weissman and charles coleman. Andrew, the first part of the day was the hearing on the gag order, whether or not donald trump violated the gag order, the d. A. s office said hes done so ten times. The second part of it is the ongoing testimony of david pecker. Lets start with the gag order, did the d. A. s office, did the prosecution make a compelling case in your eyes that donald trump has violated that gag order and if you believe they have what is the fallout in. Of course he violated it. We can all hear and see exactly what he did. And theres no defense at all even if you were to say that reposting is not a violation, which by the way, theres nothing in the order that shows reposting is not a violation. He didnt simply repost. He actually, you know, said his own words, violations that dont even fall in that category as judge merchan noted. The penalty, one thing he could do is find him in contempt but hold what the essential citizens and sort of and have that over his head. He appoint a monitor, he could appoint one of his lawyers, to oversee before any truth social goes out or any public statements are made it has to be run by her. There are tools he has in his tool kit Above And Beyond than simply fining him. Judge doesnt want to jump immediately to jalg him. There are things he can do in the interim. Its clear that donald trump is trying to call a bluff maybe well see if judge merchan levels the fine to begin with. Lets talk about the testimony, andrew, then of David Pecker Which came after that gag order hearing. Well hear from him again on thursday. How damaging is this . We knew all this, a lot of this, over the years, a reminder of how ugly it is and a look behind the curtain of the process. How pecker worked directly with him to get these stories planted that could be damaging to his opponents in 2016. What did you hear in that testimony yesterday . Which way did it cut for you . I think theres both a legal aspect to that and a big picture aspect that might be viewed as sort of a political repercussions aspect, i thought what david pecker said was truly shocking and the only reason that i think were maybe a little bit to what he had to say is because of fox news and dominion. You step back what he said was, that a media outlet even if its considered a Downmarket Media Outlet was in cahoots with one political candidate, thats what happens in russia. Thats not supposed to happen here. You may accuse news outlets for having biases but thats far different than having an explicit agreement with a candidate to only promote stories that help him, to squash stories that would hurt him and disseminate stories that are denigrating your political opponents. He talked about being at ground zero of that fake news scheme with the former president in order to get him elected. Why is that legally important . For the state to prove its case it needs to show that there was a crime that was being furthered or covered up by the false Business Records and that crime among others is state Election Fraud and ami through the National Enquirer was engaged in that state Election Fraud. Both had a Public Resonance component and legal component i thought it was a pretty devastating way to start the case. You know, it did seem devastating on so many levels and it pulled back the curtain on these things are done. Mike, i cant think of anyone who has heard Donald Trumps case up to this point more than pecker, yet, he doesnt post about pecker, he doesnt rant about pecker, he talks about Michael Cohen, he talks about other witnesses, whats the deal . Why so quiet about pecker in. Maybe pecker has something on him that donald knows and only pecker knows. I certainly dont know, mika. What andrew is just saying, we ought to think about that a little bit more because i think out there in this country, people, ordinary people have heard about the news media for eight, nine years now, cataloguing it as fake news by one of the most important people in the country unfortunately the former president of the United States and i dont know that a whole lot of people would be that shocked at the testimony about what the National Enquirer was engaged in. Charles, my question to you is, when you look at the transcripts of what happens each day in court, the back and forth National Enquirer was engaged in for compensation, is there anything illegal thus far thats been mention snd. I dont necessarily know that david pecker gets off because he didnt do anything illegal, hes subject to an Immunity Agreement with the federal government which is why were not seeing him being prosecuted as part of this overall scheme. Its important to understand that this is conversation thats literally for an audience of the jury, were consuming it as on sebbers. What the prosecution is doing laying out a case legally that will paint a picture for the jury and theyll ultimately talk about where donald trump broke the law. David pecker is supposed to set the stage and thats exactly what hes doing. Andrew, how much longer do you expect the prosecution to keep david pecker up on the stand, another few hours, another few days theyll want to question him . So, i think that we still have a lot to get through, we really havent gotten to the Stormy Daniels piece yet. As devastating as sort of the background is and how you have david pecker and the former president forming this scheme in 2015, we still havent gotten to all of the Stormy Daniels material as well as the testimony that was previewed in the opening that david pecker, after the president is elected essentially gets attaboy at the white house, why is that important . Because it was about the campaign, not doing this because they wanted to get damaging information from melaina trump. The socalled john edwards defense. One thing about this Prosecution Team thats very same the Prosecution Team as the Trump Organization tax case the criminal case, conviction about a year and a half ago, this team really knows to get in and out not to overtry its case. I would not expect him to be on the stand on direct examination or for more than a day, theyll try to keep it tight and then its going to be very interesting to see how the defense crossexamines him, because i think to mikas point, you know, you dont know what it is that david pecker might have up his sleeve, if they do a hard cross its unclear exactly what will happen. I dont anticipate that kind of crossexamination. As bad as it is now it could get worse. Yeah, they may want to stay away from attacking pecker. Molly jongfast, defendant trump is not helping Candidate Trump. Explain. You know, trump did really well during the primaries by using his indictments to get his base excited and there were a lot of people in the pundit world who thought that might scale somehow with more normal main Stream Voters and i always had been suspicious of that. Six days of the trial is that in fact that Candidate Trump is not served as being a criminal defendant. Which seems obvious but i think a lot of people maybe there was sort of threedimensional chess play that was going on here. We havent seen that. And charles, want to get a sense of what were looking what we expect over the next few days in this trial, also tomorrow, the Supreme Court, Oral Arguments in the immunity defense, i guess donald trump has a number of Different Cases that are having hearings or events at the same time. This is a big week for him legally. When youre talking about the Hush Money Case in new york, obviously were going to see david peckers crossexamination, im interested to see how that plays out and well see another witness from the prosecution whos still going to tell the story and begin to paint the picture in greater detail, i think its important early on in the prosecution has done this, they draw in the jury, make it clear what this case is and they give him a reallife picture of what happened. As far as the Supreme Court, this cannot be understated in terms of its importance because it impacts pretty much both of his federal cases in terms of how they move forward and what happens next. Even though he wont be there everyone else will be watching with bated Breath Anything can be gleaned from the justices questions and their attorneys. Charles koehlman and Andrew Weissman, thank you both very much still ahead on morning joe, the senate has passed a critical foreign aid package paving the way to provide billions of dollars for ukraine and other allies. But first, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is standing by. He joins the conversation with announcement on airline fees. Thats next on morning joe. Well be right back. tony hawk skating for over 45 years has taken a toll on my body. I take qunol turmeric because it helps with healthy joints and inflammation support. Why qunol . It has superior absorption compared to regular turmeric. Qunol. The brand i trust. is this normal . Yeah. I mean, he does look happy. When youve got questions, chewys got answers. Too happy . Ask the chewy vet team. How much is too much catnip . Chat with our vet team for free. [thud] i dont want you to move. Chat with our vet team im gonna miss you so much. You realize well have Internet Waiting for us at the new place, right . Oh, we know. We just like making a scene. Transferring your services has never been easier. Get connected on the day of your move with the xfinity app. Can i sleep over at your new place . Can katie sleep over tonight . Sure, honey this generation is so dramatic move with xfinity. 20 past the hour. The Department Of Transportation is cracking down on the Airline Industry this morning. Under new regulations that were just announced, airlines will be required to issue cash refunds automatically should flights be severely delayed or cancelled. In addition, Airlines Must now make abundantly clear what fees are charged when it comes to things like baggage, cancellations and more. Joining us now to talk about the new regulations is u. S. Transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg. Secretary, its very good to see you and these make sense, all these types of fees that are Surprise Fees or last minute, theyre infur rating, are there any regulation changes coming or rules come that will make flying safe. Thats right, our Primary Mission as a department is safety, why the faa has boeing under a microscope why we have so many steps from staffing to technology, to make sure that we maintain the extraordinary Safety Record that the u. S. Has in aviation. Then you have consumer protection, our major priority when it comes to airline sector, weve been on a mission to deliver the biggest expansion in passengers rights in decades and this is one of the biggest moments in that journey, weve been working on this regulation for more than a year it includes everything to make sure you get your money back when your flight is cancelled or significantly delayed. And making it very clear, what youre paying in the first place, the whole idea of capitalism youre supposed to be as a consumer to comparison shop but if you dont know the difference between things youre buying, then its not a free and fair marketplace. So this rule speaks to all of those things. We think its going to make a big difference and change airline behavior knowing that every passenger on a flight thats cancelled will be getting their money back by default will change the economic incentives for airlines as were pressing them to make sure their schedules are realistic in first place. Mr. Secretary, good morning. You feel like you pay a ton of money just to take the flight and when you arrive at the airport you feel like youre being nickelled and dimed again. I paid this money for the flight, why do i have to pay for the bag. It just feels like theyre trying to exact every nickel out of a traveler. Yay, theyve developed this Business Model especially over the last ten, 20 years, there are little charges, upcharges and the worst thing is when its surprise charge, look if you know youre paying extra because you want something extra thats one thing, some cases where passengers are made to feel like they bought their ticket and theyll have to pay extra just to have a seat, were requiring airlines to clarify you get to sit on the plane if you bought a ticket to be on the plane. The other thing, though, thats really important here is the default, it sounds technical, the fact that by default without having to ask you youll automatly get money back on any form of payment you used to buy the ticket in first place. If you have a cancellation and a significant delay, you had to fight for it. Lot of times what the airline would do, heres 5,000 miles that might sound great if youre not aware that 5,000 miles is worth 50 bucks and youre entitled to say 400 bucks in a ticket refund. This clarifies all that. Unless the passenger go out of your way to say you want a voucher. Delay after delay after delay, i never check a bag, im used to sitting in the confines of a seat with a passenger next to me could easily pick my pocket and i would never know it, but my real concern is and i want you to try to answer, whats the status of air Traffic Controllers in this country, do we have enough of them . Do they get overtired . Do they Pay Attention the way they did eight, ten years ago . The answer is we need more and were hiring more. You know, if you look at a chart over the last 30 years, the number of air Traffic Controllers has gone down and down. Until recently until we finally got that number going up. 1800 this year. Were requesting a budget from congress that will let us hire 2,000 next year so you dont have as much concern of them being overtired. You need to make sure those controllers are on top of their game. Now these controllers are pros. Its extraordinary what they do. We need to support them for that very reason with the right kind of space between their shifts, with more controllers coming into their ranks and importantly with better technology. Were working Toup Fwrad That Technology right now. Were asking congress right now for a mandatory account making it easier for the faa to plan, so these controllers have everything they have to succeed. My question might be kind of small compared to what mike just asked, about regulations for fees, i just want to ask, maybe im alone here, but how many of you folks are on a plane and you get wifi and you finally get on and then the wifi doesnt work and then you paid for wifi that doesnt work, am i alone. Why do we have to pay for wifi . Go ahead. This happened to me the other day and one of the things in this regulation, if you pay for wifi and it doesnt come through, you get money back. These Little Things add up. However you fly, however often you fly youre way protected now than you were four years ago, this rule is the latest big step toward that. U. S. Transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg thank you very much for coming on the show this morning. Always good to see you, sir. And coming up, nearly two years after being attacked on stage, renowned Author Salman Rushdie is opening up about the traumatizing event. He joins us with his new memoir called knife. Morning joe will be right back. Will be right back a lot of new dry eye patients in my office tell me about their frequent dry eyes, which may point to dry eye disease. Millions of americans were estimated to have it. Theyve tried artificial tears again and again, but the relief is temporary. Xiidra can provide lasting relief. Xiidra treats the signs and symptoms of dry eye disease. Dont use if youre allergic to xiidra. Common side effects include eye irritation, discomfort or blurred vision when applied to the eye, and unusual taste sensation. Doctor why wait . Ask your eye doctor about a 90day prescription for xiidra today. Clems not a morning person. Or a. People person. But he is an i can solve this in 4 different ways person. You need clem. Clem needs benefits. Work with principal so we can help you with a plan thats right for him. You know what im saying . Let our expertise round out yours. 33 past the hour. Author and activist Salman Rushdie has spent a lifetime fighting for his work, First Living In Fear for decades after the leader of iran issued a of him in 1989 over his novel the satanic verses. When rushdie was attacked and nearly killed while giving an interview in new york, the attacker stabbed him more than a dozen times causing the awardwinning author to lose sight in one eye. In his new book, its not only a personal recount of that day but his personal journey of recovery that followed. Thank you so much for coming on the show and for writing this book. Thank you. Despite the title, despite the title and the event that inspired it, its a book about healing. You told pbs, its the story of the knife attack, but you started to think of it in another way, a more metaphorical way, a knife, a tool you can use to cut through things, how writing this book impacted you, helped you, brought you to where you are today . It was very hard to write, especially the first chapter in which the actual details of the attack are given in great detail, that was very hard emotionally difficult to write. One i got past that it got easier and it began to flow more smoothly. People have asked me if it was kind of therapeutic. I wouldnt say therapy because i had therapy. Therapy is therapy and writing is writing in my view. What it did do was give me control of the narrative. So, salman, your story, telling your story, the degree of difficulty of recounting of what happened to you, you were at deaths door. What was it like knowing that you could die, i mean, you were badly wounded, knowing that you could die it was fairly clear i thought i was going to die, lying on the floor with blood pouring out of me, i thought this was probably it. One of the things i wanted to try and show in this book, because as my editor said to me, not many people have a really neardeath experience and then come back to tell the story, so could i please tell the story. What was interesting was not what happened. No tunnel of light. No kind of feeling of lifting out of your body. None of that. I said in the book i rarely felt so connected to my body. A very physical experience. That confirmed my longtime godlessness. Do you remember who if anyone who thought of, anyone close to you that was the worst bit. Was feeling i was dying far away from the people i love. In the company of strange. That it was a feeling of, i mean, loneliness. Here i am by myself in a strange place with strange people around me and everyone i care about is far away. That was the worst part. Weve known each other a long time and i remember knowing you right after and you were i always thought of you as a person who was brave, who was not who did not you had security but you still did stuff, you write when it happened that you were like its caught up with me now, can you talk about your trajectory and then what happened. It started in 1989 as you know, the next i guess almost nine years were kind of maximum security period, but i came to live in New York City almost 25 years ago now, and for 23 of those 25 years life was pretty normal, you know, i was living the kind of life that writers have. I was doing book tours and readings and lectures and sitting at home for long periods of time writing. It felt as if the trouble had passed. So when this man came out of the crowd and ran at me, i said in the book it felt like Something Like a time warp, something from an earlier age cropping up in the present and it was quite it was a real obviously it was very unpleasant but very surprising. Salman, ill try to make a linkage here, but youre a writer who has frequented his own life in danger for the cause of writing, were in position now in the states where a major literary is being cancelled because theyve withdrawn their submissions because of the war in gaza, i wonder how you feel about that and what it tells you about the situation were in in america, so hat hot and so divided and angry, maybe you feel these are writers standing up for the cause of gaza and something needs to be done to put a spotlight on that human suffering. I understand a lot of the anger but i think its very sad i feel sorry for writers who have been nominated for these awards, many of whom could do with the money, its one thing, legitimate to say that pan american hasnt spoken up, everybody has that right to protest, but i dont see why you know, writers from around the country nominated for prestigious prizes why they should be made the fall guys for this. Thats sad. The new book is entitled knife, Salman Rushdie, thank you very much for coming on the show this morning and thank you for writing the book. We appreciate it. Thank you. Still ahead, we have update on Donald Trumps Hush Money Trial and the gag order against the former president. Plus the latest from Columbia University as the demonstrations and the school appear to have an agreement to scale back the protests. Well explain that ahead on morning joe. Nothing dims my light like a migraine. With nurtec odt, i found relief. The only Migraine Medication that helps treat and prevent, all in one. To those with migraine, i see you. For the acute treatment of migraine with or without aura and the preventive treatment of Episodic Migraine in adults. Dont take if allergic to nurtec odt. Allergic reactions can occur, even days after using. Most common side effects were nausea, indigestion, and stomach pain. Its time we all shine. Talk to a Healthcare Provider about nurtec odt from pfizer. Before planning the big trip you were limping thanks to a bad knee. Then, you heard about mako roboticassisted knee replacement. It starts with a ct scan to pinpoint the problem. That becomes a personalized, 3d plan to guide your doctor during surgery. Mako can help lead to better outcomes, like less pain and shorter recovery times. The lifetime of a knee implant is limited, and revision surgery may be required. Individual results and recovery times vary. Risks of surgery include pain, infection, heart attack, stroke, death, and other serious risks. Ask your doctor for important safety information. [camera shutter] to find a doctor who uses mako visit makocan. Com times may change, but somethings remain timeless. Ive been using Dove Beauty Bar more than 25 years. Dove is 1 4 moisturizing cream. I feel silky smooth. Business. Its not a ninetofive i f proposition. Oth. Its all day and into the night. Its all the things that keep this world turning. The gotos that keep us going. The places we cheer. And check in. They all choose the advanced Network Solutions and round the Clock Partnership from Comcast Business. See why Comcast Business powers more Small Businesses than anyone else. Get started for 49. 99 a month plus ask how to get up to an 800 prepaid card. Dont wait call today. Live look at a foggy, hazy New York City at 450 past the hour. Time now for a look at the Morning Papers aross the country. The montgomery advertise ideser is reporting on a new alabama law targeting human trafficking, the governor kay ivey signed The Sound Of Freedom Act calling it the toughest law in america on trafficking. The measure raises the penalty to a mandatory Life Sentence if the victim is a minor. The Baltimore Sun is covering the next phase of Cleanup Efforts on the collapsed remnants of the Francis Scott key bridge, a massive hydraulic claw arrived in baltimore last weekend to help Lift Bridge Debris from the cargo ship and surrounding waters. Officials plan on opening a deeper, alternate channel for vessels to travel through the citys harbor as most ship traffic has been blocked since last months fatal crash. The an ranch daily news spotlighting the effect on the Child Care Crisis on mothers without college degrees. Moms without Higher Education degrees are less likely to have paid leave and more likely to leave the workforce when faced with taking care of their child. In 2022 more than 1 in 10 Young Children had a parent who had to quit or change their jobs because of Childcare Problems due to high costs and limited care options. And the it can journal is taking a look at the growing crackdown on the spread of Dollar Stores across the country. Critics say, stores such as dollar tree and Family Dollar attract crime and promote food deserts in underserved areas with little access to Healthy Foods and at least 130 bans and restrictions have been imposed on the expansion of Dollar Stores. Across the country. Well turn back to politics now, republican senator thom tillis slammed a member of his own party yesterday, Marjorie Taylor greene. He did not mince words. When criticizeding greenes opposition to the legislation and her push to oust Speaker Mike Johnson for helping to get aid to ukraine through the house. I think shes uninformed. Shes a horrible leader. Shes dragging our brand down. She not the democrats are the biggest risk to us getting back to a majority. Wow, thats pretty clear, molly, your latest piece for msnbc. Com is entitled even trump has had enough of Marjorie Taylor greenes latest stunt. You write of greenes ongoing attempt to oust speakeronson from his role, sailing, quote, late monday after greene told steve bannon she would continue her quest, trump himself, The Grand Duke of burn it down politics shot the whole idea down. We have majority of one, okay, its not like johnson can go and do whatever he wants to do. I think hes a good person. Whether or not trumps intervention makes a difference, the pile of House Republican failures rises higher by the week. Republicans allowed trump to pick their speaker, but it turns out hes about as good at picking speakers as. What do you make of mike john son and how hes doing the job, i read this incredible also piece in the atlantic About Speaker Johnson and hes got a fascinating backstory that might explain how he might actually thread the needle here. Yeah, i mean, whats so interesting is these republicans had such ambitious plans, they were going to impeach the first cabinet member in a hundred years, that died last week. They were going to impeach President Joe Biden on vibes. Their witness went to jail. They had plans about going to impeachment joe biden and their witness went to jail, and they had bills when it came to appliances, and they had to postpone that and that is that serious stuff. They just thought they were going to be able to do whatever they wanted. I was really worried this ukraine supplemental was not going to pass, because i didnt see a way that the burn it down caucus, the Marjorie Taylor greene and tommy massey crew wouldnt try to actually burn it down. What happened is pretty interesting, is mike johnson, for whatever reason and maybe its because of classified stuff he saw, and maybe its that trump did not really kill the supplemental the way he killed the border bill, and you will remember he told mike johnson not to take it to the floor, so mike johnson is doing whatever trump wants him to do, and for whatever reason, this went through. And congressional leadership have a lot to do with that, too. Molly, you touched on Something Interesting about what happened, and even over just the last couple of weeks between the relationship between donald trump and speaker johnson, and Marjorie Taylor greene, and that is that donald trump did not go after the speaker for doing this, and he goes down to maralago, and instead hes onboard that we have to get this money out to ukraine. He said, look, speaker johnson is a good guy and a tough guy and will do what he has to do, and its almost like Marjorie Taylor greene and her group stepped out on the ledge and thought trump was behind them and looked back and he was not there. And trump is in a position of weakness, and hes sitting through a criminal trial. The pro putin caucus, we have seen more and more republicans come out about this, and like mccall, he made a bold statement and the fact that the republicans did say this stuff did really help. They managed we will see what happens, but that crew, that burn it down crew is isolated, and that could serve the party and the world. It was interesting when Marjorie Taylor greene started being quoted in russian media, and i wish i could do the accent and i am bad about with that foreign accent, and you thought, shes being held up literally, and there are members of the Republican Party donald trump turned against her and turned in favor of the protecting the ukraine bill, and came back from a few days in europe, and the sigh of relief having explored all the other options, america finally did the right thing. Its a reminder for awful us how incredibly important American Leadership is. Europe couldnt do this without the United States. In the end, mike johnson for whatever reason, whatever intelligence he heard, and donald trump went along witness, and america did the right thing. Vanity fairs malla, thank you for being with us. And we will show you new remarks penning the states abortion squarely on the former President Trump. Morning joe is back in a moment. Ng joe is back in a moment limu emu and doug hello, ghostbusters. Its doug. Of doug and limu. We help people customize and Save Hundreds on Car Insurance with liberty mutual. Anyway, we got a bit of a situation here. Uhhuh. Uhhuh. [ metal groans] sure, i can hold. Only pay for what you need. Liberty Liberty Liberty Liberty Ghostbusters frozen empire. In theaters now. Hey asthmas got you going through it . Grab nucala for fewer asthma attacks. Nucala is a oncemonthly addon injection for severe eosinophilic asthma. Not for sudden breathing problems. Allergic reactions can occur. Get help right away for swelling of face, mouth, tongue, or trouble breathing. Infections that can cause shingles have occurred. Dont stop steroids unless told by your doctor. Tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection. May cause headache, injection site reactions, back pain, and fatigue. Ask an Asthma Specialist if nucala is right for you. With fastsigns, Create Factory Grade visual solutions to perfect your process. Fastsigns. Make your statement™. From the 1 rated brand in cordless outdoor power, the ego zeroturn riding mower with esteer technology. Drives like a car, turns on a dime. And it cuts up to 2. 5 acres on a single charge. Exclusively lowes, ace, and ego authorized dealers. Hi, im michael, ive lost 62 pounds on golo and i have kept it off. Most of the weight that i gained was strictly in my belly which is a sign of insulin resistance. But since golo, that weight has completely gone away, as you can tell. Thanks to golo and release, ive got my life and my health back. I think everybody has their own assessment of President Trumps character, and he described the Dobbs Decision as a miracle, and maybe its coming from that bible hes trying to sell. Whoa. I almost wanted to buy one to see what the hell is in it. Republican senator mitt romney and President Biden, willie, making jokes about donald trump. There was a lot to go around yesterday. Mitt romney, wow, bring it home, willie. Yeah, mitt romney going in on that, and no love lost, and expect to hear more of that through the campaign. Absolutely. Its a good point. You dont just pay 130,000 for nothing. Thats for sure. We will have expert legal analysis on yesterdays testimony in the hushmoney trial and the Gag Order Against Trump straight ahead. President bidens joke came while he was campaigning in florida on the issue of Reproductive Rights, and Womens Health care, blaming trump for Overturning Roe and the extreme Abortion Laws. We will show you more of the president s speech. Trump was stuck in court in New York City, and a Top Republican admits its trumps fault that Border Security has not passed. We knew that, but to hear this republican say it really brings it home. Willie, i had the news on yesterday, and if i heard the word pecker one more time, i was going to lose my mind, but he was the lead witness. Yeah, david pecker, we should be clear. He was the witnessed in the hushmoney case. Its april 24th, and along with willie and me, we have maura gay and Deputy Managing Editor for politics at politico, sam stein is with us. Willie, our top story has to do with, yes, david pecker. I am picking up on a theme this morning. I think you are enjoying saying his name. Donald trumps hushmoney trial is continuing tomorrow. The judge held a hearing at the start of tuesdays proceeding to determine if the former president violated his gag order. Prosecutors argued trump had done so at least ten times and wanted him held in contempt. The defense team argued he was reposting opinions of others on social media and was, quote, being careful about complying with the order. But the judge expressed extreme frustration with that argument and told attorney blanche he was losing credibility with the court. If i read every one of these articles, and i would read some of it and i will look at headlines, all good headlines, and the case is a sham, but i cant read the whole thing, this is like reading a novel. So i put an article in it and somebodys name is mentioned somewhere deep in the article and i end up in violation of the gag order. So he says hes innocently reposting articles and the judge has not ruled on if he violated the gag order. Lets hear from Barbara Mcquade and lisa. Judge merchan yesterday very frustrated and heard the argument from the defense team that donald trump doesnt mean to be posting these things and hes not posting the whole article so its not as bad. Where do you see this heading . Toward a find of contempt, and the question is with what remedy. At this point, the d. A. s office was clear that they were not seeking a term in jail, and so expect to see a Written Opinion from judge merchan in the next couple of days that talks about the intentional quality of trumps violations of the gag order. One of the things the d. A. s office pointed out that i thought was savvy, and trump has talked about the gag order in many other posts and their point was trump knows exactly what he can and cant do tphrt gag order. If he didnt, he wouldnt be complaining about the structures of it, and he posted rampantly about the judge and d. A. And the process as a whole in ways that he understands full well do not flout the gag order. Expect to see a Written Opinion from judge merchan in the next couple of days that fines trump 5,000 to 10,000, and orders him to take the Offensive Post down with the warning the next violation will end with something worse. He goes outside to the bank of cameras and violates the gag order. Lets say its in the next couple of days the ruling comes down and its 5,000 or 8,000 or how many counts of the violation of the gag order the judge deems donald trump has committed, and is that a step towards Something Else after that . I am not sure 7,000 is going to deter donald trump . Yes, i think most judges like to use progressive discipline, and that is your first violation will get you one fine, and a subsequent violation might get ahigher fine. This judge has the power to jail donald trump up to 30 days. It does seem that donald trump is almost trying to bait the judge here. He wants to, perhaps, demonstrate to his supporters that hes Above The Law and he can get away with anything he wants to, and on the other hand, you are damned if you do, damned if you dont. If you do jail donald trump, doesnt that fulfill his prophecy that this is a witch hunt to curtail his election efforts and interfere with the election. If i were judge merchan i would follow the advice of janet reno who said you are damned if you do or damned if you dont, so do the right thing. And many who repeatedly violated a gag order would find themselves jailed, and thats what donald trump faces. David pecker returning to the witness stand for a second day. Hes the former ceo of the Parent Company of the National Enquirer. Pecker revealed he was present at trumps 2015 Campaign Announcement at trump tower and said former Trump Attorney, Michael Cohen, told him he should be there, and the three had a meeting and thats when they say the Election Scheme was hatched, and pecker said he would be their eyes and ears on stories that could be damaging to trump, and he told them he would run positive stories about trump and negative stories about his opponents, and senators ted cruz and ben carson. The enquirer would embellish the stories, and pecker said he understood we to mean cohen and trump. Barbara, i will start with you and then lisa. Can you go back to what is the law that prosecutors are trying to prove that trump broke . What is the crime trump committed that hes sitting in court for . How does peckers Testimony Help to corroborate that in any way . The law is falsification of Business Records to conceal the commission of another crime. I think what the prosecutors have done that is very helpful here is to start with the crime and then talk about the falsification of the Business Records as the coverup. Thats really what it was, and thats why it matters. Here the crime is a statute under new york law, 17152 that makes it a crime to conspire to promote or prevent the election of any candidate to office by unlawful means. The unlawful means here is Campaign Expenditures without an intent to report them, and Michael Cohen paid 130,000, and the National Enquirer paid the doorman and a payment to Karen Mcdougal, and so the moment the money changes hands, its illegally, and they have the evidence of the Illegal Campaign expenditures, and that occurred in August Of 2015 and extended all the way through the election and beyond throughout this coverup. Lisa, im curious about i know this is sort of looking at sort of the exterior things, but in the courtroom just the demeanor of trump and just watching this closely from home, seeing him coming into court from the beginning, i feel like i dont want to overstate it, but he seems very subdued and it seems his colorful personality has almost turned gray, if i could, and i wonder if its walking in and having to sit down and cameras in his face, and arch enemies in the courtroom every day, and is it getting to him or is it the case itself bothering him . All of it . What are you seeing in the courtroom play out . You think about david pecker sitting there and everybody asking david pecker or talking on the air about questions what data pecker knows, and i am thinking its possible david pecker has a few more secrets about donald trump than the ones being discussed . I think you are absolutely right, mika. I expect david pecker to be on the stand through the end of the week. I think the prosecution still has at least several more hours of direct testimony with david pecker. What makes me say that . First of all, we left off yesterday with the beginning of the Karen Mcdougal settlement, and that means we have to talk through that story, the Stormy Daniels settlement and the enquires involvement in that, and pecker was thanked by trump for his contributions to the election, so theres a lot of ground chronologically to cover, and lots of conversations to testify to, and that august 2015 meeting, trump and cohen invited him to that and when he got there asked him what can you do for us in relation to the campaign . What can you personally do . What can the enquirer do . Thats when pecker came up with i will be your eyes and ears. He had a conversation on the phone with trump about Karen Mcdougal, and he said michael has told me about karen, what do you think . We know from the beginning testimony, he talked to trump once he became a candidate at least once a week by phone and saw him in person once a month. What is particularly notable about that he saw and talked to trump more after he became a candidate than he did before. Usually when people run for the president of the United States and become a major party nominee, they have a whole lot less time for other people in their life as they are going around the country, so we have a lot more to hear from pecker in the days to come. Yeah, and i am trying to think what the jurors were thinking. When i was growing up i am not sure, you are a little younger, but i would go into the Grocery Store with my mom and there was the National Enquirer, and there were pictures of people and crazy stories and the theme the enquirer could move the meter . Is this surprising to the jury . Do they see it as a joke like most of us in this world do or is it somewhere in the middle . I am glad you brought that up, mika, because one of the most disturbing parts as a journalist is david peckers description is journalism, and i wouldnt call It Journalism, in fact, and generally we dont pay for stories and news organizations tonight operate that way. The National Enquirer, its a throwback. Anybody under the age of 25 is saying what . Who . What are you even talking about . Yeah. But i think it feeds into what you are talking about which is that you used to see at the Grocery Store right before you checked out, you would say, oh, gee, i wonder if thats true . Thats the hallmark of what donald trump does and those around him and what he instructs them to dos to introduce doubt, to plant a seed of whether its a conspiracy or a lie, and allow it to blossom kind of naturally. That seems to be what he was doing by using david pecker. For sure. I wonder, lisa, if you could talk about the defenses case here. Do they have a leg to stand on . They do and they dont. One of the things that they have seed is Nondisclosure Agreements are perfectly lawful, and influencing an election is lawful. Its called democracy. Yes, isolation Nondisclosure Agreements are lawful, but in other words to influence an election by not reporting inkind or Actual Campaign expenses is not lawful, and they have a ton of direct evidence about the formation of the conspiracy and Donald Trumps knowledge and intent to carry out the payments through Michael Cohen and david pecker. What is harder to establish, and i think you saw this in listening closely to the d. A. s Opening Statement, is when it comes to how it was papered over. Yes, donald trump signed some checks. Can they show on the other hand donald trump knew exactly what he was paying Michael Cohen for and understood that without relying entirely on Michael Cohen . That remains to be seen. It will be far more dull, and thats the crime that they have to prove, they have to prove that he falsified Business Records or caused other people to do it with intent. You have to connect the dots, although most of us believe thats exactly what happened, and they have to prove that. Sam, it was like reliving the 2016 campaign, and we are talking about ted cruzs father being involved in the jfk assassination, and there was a headline in the National Enquirer during that campaign, that dr. Ben carson left a sponge in someones brain is what the enquirer put out there, and we all laughed at the headlines when we were kids, and he would throw it out there at the rally and the audience would say, yeah, i did hear that. The Biden Campaign is hoping that people will be reminded of how exhausting and full of lies the trump years and the campaign and presidency were. I am surprised anybody would slander the National Enquirer. Its all i heard yesterday, like woody woodpecker, what is going on. Pecker, pecker. I thought it was funny. It is funny. Back on script, to willies point. The meta story is you have biden on the trail and hes talking about abortion and campaigning and doing the nuts and pwoelgts of politics and very conventional, and then you have donald trump in a courtroom, and hes distracted and cant do the things he needs to do on the campaign, and hes embroiled in literal tabloid controversial, and thats something the Biden Campaign welcomes. We were talking about the defense here, and i would ask this of barbara, too, and i think the defense is fairly easy here, right . Which is this man, david pecker, ran the National Enquirer, which literally made up stories and peddled lies, and why should we believe hes telling the truth now . Same with Michael Cohen, honestly, and he admitted he lied. Why should we believe anything he has to say now . That to me, barbara, seems to be a powerful defense, to say these people are admitted liars and you should not believe what they have to say. What would the prosecution do with that . Sure, and that comes up in many criminal cases. You know, often times a prosecutor needs to use as a witness somebody that was a criminal associate of the defendant, and the common statement is to say in closing arguments, i didnt use the witnesses but the defendant did by associating with him closely, but the key is to find Corroborating Evidence so the jury doesnt have to take their word for it, and to find other witnesses that has credibility and to testify about it, thats where we will hear from people like hope hicks and we will see documents in the forms of checks and ledgers, and we will hear the recording where he talks about setting up the payments and consultants, and thats the way you rehabilitate the witness who will be beat up on crossexamination, you and you can see that coming for david pecker and Michael Cohen, and it will be coming for Stormy Daniels as well if she testifies. Very often that corroboration is enough to rehabilitate those witnesses. Coming up, President Biden visits florida and denounces the states sixweek abortion ban set to go into effect next week, may 1st. What he had to say about that and to hold donald trump accountable on the issue. Morning joe is back in a moment. Some people just know theres a better way to do things. And some people. Dont. Bundle your home and auto with allstate and save. Youre in good hands with allstate. President biden was on the Campaign Trail Yesterday in Donald Trumps home state. The president gave a speech on Reproductive Rights one week before floridas sixweek abortion ban goes into effect. Six weeks. He blamed trump for the repeal of roe v. Wade and extreme Abortion Laws across the country. For 50 years the court ruled that there was a fundamental constitutional right to privacy. Yes but two years ago that was taken away. Lets be real clear. Theres one person responsible for this nightmare and hes acknowledging and brags about it, donald trump. Well, you know, now trump says the law is, quote, working the way its supposed to. Trump goes on to say individual state laws are working his words, brilliantly. Brilliantly. Its a sixweek ban in florida. Its really brilliant, isnt it . Even before women know they are pregnant. Is that brilliant . He says its up to the states, and this is all about states rights. But hes wrong. The Supreme Court is wrong. It should be a constitutional right in the federal constitution, a federal right, and it shouldnt matter where america you live, and its not about states rights but womens rights. Joining us now, Washington Bureau chief on usa today, and its titled rule breaker. Congratulations on the book. I wanted to ask about joe biden in florida, and just the flex of that, and donald trump is stuck in a New York City courtroom, a grimy courtroom, talking about his relationship with the head of the National Enquirer, david pecker, and stories they tried to move along to get to defame people, and stories they tried to hide so trump doesnt look bad. The whole thing is gross and seedy and unseemly, and it may be surprising to people as to how all that works, and there you have joe biden in a state that will be hard to flip blue, but perhaps a sixweek ban could give biden a fighting chance, and can you talk about that ban and how its not Reproductive Rights and choice, and we will see the health in florida severely impacted by a ban like this . We know women overwhelmingly in this country think thats an unreasonable limitation on access to abortion, and thats republican women, too. Its hard to imagine democrats carry florida in november, but its not hard to imagine that Women In Georgia, North Carolina and arizona were listening to the president yesterday and nodding their heads in agreement when he talks about that florida ban. What do you make of joe biden in florida, especially his comments on reproductive freedom . First of all, its a flex and its a reminder to donald trump, its eventually joe biden saying to donald trump, you cant escape this, you did this, to use another campaign slogan. Donald trump has bin milly mouthed. He said the dobbs ruling is working as it should, and other times he said certain states have gone too far. Ultimately women and voters in america know exactly who it is that put the Supreme Court justices in place who, you know, ultimately struck down roe v. Wade. I think its going to be very difficult, if not impossible, for donald trump and the Republican Party to escape that responsibility, and women across america not just women are extremely motivated by the issue. Its not just about people in florida, but people in michigan who are looking at this and saying, thats right, i am very angry. We saw referendums in that state in michigan, and referendums in kansas over the past few years. This is not a red stateblue state issue, and americans are furious over this and joe biden is reminding them why. Even the Biden Campaign concedes florida may be a long shot but its worth going there. Its to broadcast to not just florida but to the country, this is what donald trump has brought and donald trump has been tied in knots on the issue, and he came out and said this is a states right, and joe biden said this is what happens when you send it back to the states, and Kamala Harris goes to arizona and says this is what happens when you send it back to the states. Let me add to what maura said and say this is not something that will go away and its not because joe biden will go to florida and Kamala Harris will go to arizona and say this is what is happening in your states, but because theres going to be news breaks on this issue. In arizona the legislature has to consider a law to overturn the Supreme Courts ban of abortion, that 1864 law. Today at the Supreme Court theres the first hearing for a challenge of a law in idaho that prohibits abortions in emergency medical situations. That decision will likely be held before the decision. Theres a number of decisions and other initiatives that will take place before november, not to mention the Ballot Initiatives that will take place on election day. This is not one of these things where joe biden has to manufacture it into existence, but it will be one of the top three election issues from now until november, and there will be multiple inflexion points because of Something Big happening legislatively. Susan stay with us. We want to look at Barbara Walters, a look at her trailblazing interviews, including one in particular, with former president richard nixon. Thats next on morning joe. Slowing my cancer from growing and living longer are two things i want from my Metastatic Breast Cancer treatment. And with kisqali, i can have both. Kisqali is a pill that when taken with an aromatase inhibitor helps delay cancer from growing and has been proven to help people live significantly longer across three separate clinical trials. So, i have the confidence to live my life. 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It focuses on The Life And Times of legendary broadcast journalist, Barbara Walters. In 1980, walters was granted a relatively rare interview with richard nixon, and at the end of their nearly hourlong talk, walters asked nixon this in just a few seconds we have left now, and theres almost just time for yes and no, are you sorry you did not burn the tapes . Interesting enough, everybody in europe that i talked to said why didnt you burn the tapes, and the answer is i probably should have, but mainly i shouldnt have even installed them because johnsons system was there and i had it taken out and shouldnt have put it in place. If you had it to do anything else, you would have burned them . Well, yes, because they were private conversations and subject to misinterpretation, as we have all seen. Captivating revelations about the trailblazer for us all . Such a classic Barbara Walters question, and in eight words she put the former president on the spot and make an acknowledgment that he wished he burned the tapes, and thats a question she worked on for weeks and weeks trying to ask him that question without giving nixon an exit door to dodge. Lots of money and all this acclaim, and i think its easy to forget how hard it was to get there, and how no women ever got there before and the price she paid. Its not like we have a perfectly level Playing Field now, but things are a whole lot different for women in broadcasting and journalism, and a lot of that credit goes to Barbara Walters. Susan, that led me to the question where i am thinking about Barbara Walters in the 1960s got a job as a researcher on the today show, and when she was good enough to be on the air, they called her the today girl, because it was a boys club, and correct me if i am wrong, and just how important was she has a role model, as an example, not just for women but for all of us in this business . She didnt have a model. No women had done what she proposed to do, and she didnt have much of a mentor either. She was out there on her own. It was a pretty lonely quest. She just pushed her way ahead into a field that was not ready to welcome her. When she got to be on the today show, and frank mcgee was the host of the today show, and she could not speak until he asked the first three questions. Whoa. And she took the lemons and made lemonade, and she set up her own interviews outside the studio so she could ask all the questions in the interview. Thats amazing. The new book entitled The Rulebreaker The Life And Times of Barbara Walters. Congratulations on the book. Thank you. Thank you. We are going to be joined by one groups leader that says donald trump broke the promises he made while in the white house to them. Morning joe will be right back. Plastic is not wasted. But instead remade over and over. Into the things that keep our food fresher, our families safer, and our planet cleaner. To help us get there, americas plastic makers are investing billions of dollars to create Innovative Products and new recycling technologies for sustainable change. Because when you push for smarter solutions, big things can happen. Liberty mutual customized my Car Insurance and i saved hundreds. Thats great. I know, ive bee telling everyone. Baby liberty. Oh baby liberty. How many people did you tell . Only pay for what you need. Jingle liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Baby liberty. With so many choices on booking. Com there are so many tina feys i could be. So i hired body doubles. Indoorsy tina loves a deluxe suite. Ooh booking. Com booking. Yeah were here today to set the record straight about dupuytrens contracture. Surgery is not your only treatment option. People may think their contracture has to be severe to be treated, but it doesnt. Visit findahandspecialist. Com today to get started. When others divide. We unite. With Real Solutions to help our kids. Like community schools. Neighborhood hubs that provide everything from Mental Health services to food pantries. Academic tutoring to prom dresses. Healthcare to after care. Community schools can wrap so much around public schools. And through meaningful partnerships with families, they become centers of their communities. Real solutions for kids and communities at aft. Org at a white house meeting in january of 2017, the head of north americas Building Trades unions praised then President Donald Trump for committing to improve the lives of labor workers. We just had probably the most incredible meeting of our careers with the president and the Vice President and the senior staff. When the president laid out his plans about how hes going to handle trade and invest in our infrastructure and level the Playing Field for Construction Workers all across the country, and then took the time to take everybody in the oval office and show them the seat of power in the world, and the United States president just showed us, and that was nothing short of incredible. Well, that was then. This is now. Its one thing to say something. Its another thing to do it. Fastforward to today where the nabtu is endorsing President Joe Bidens 2024 campaign and launching a nationwide effort to keep trump from ever returning to the white house. In a statement and accompanying video, the groups president , Shawn Mcgarvey said, trump broke those promises he made to Union Leaders when he first took office. You are promising America Tonight, you would never abuse power as retribution against anybody. Except for day one. Donald trump, hes not a good man. Hes not a good person. He does not care about anybody in this world, except donald trump. Thats it. Thats all. Now hes looking to get in that position again to exert revenge on people. I go all the way back to the 80s with donald trump and him trying to get his mug on page six of the new york post. The difference today is that he feels free to let his Dark Side Out, and thats very dark and dangerous for this country. We cant let our democracy that we worked for and cherished just disintegrate with the wrong leader at the wrong time. I can tell you he personally committed to me he would get our pensions fixed, and he understood who was affected by these pensions. He assured me, im the president of the United States and i will call mitch and tell him to put it in the bill, and is everybody going to love me . Is everybody going to love me . Yes, mr. President , fix the pension and everybody will love you. That was wasted breath. Donald trump promised infrastructure every year. Infrastructure is the easiest of all. Donald trump was not interested in any of the policy that actually goes along with being president of the United States. Trump was interested in the pomp and circumstance, the plane, the helicopter, its all about him. Donald trump is incapable of running anything, let alone the most powerful country in the History Of The World and god help us if he gets anywhere near that white house in the future. And Shawn Mcgarvey joins us now. Thank you for coming on the show this morning. That was a pretty powerful video, and a real turn around from when you first endorsed former President Trump, or at least listened to him and hoped his promises would come true. What do you say to hardworking americans that dont have time, you know, to clue in on every detail of every trial hes involved with or every promise he made, who support trump almost blindly but he connect with him, and even members of your union, what do you say to them about who this man is . Well, quite honestly, we are not going to waste a lot of time talking to every american that supports donald trump and waste a lot of time with some of our members that Support Donald Trump because we are not going to change their minds. What we are going to concentrate on is the 10 to 15 of our members who we can have a conversation with and explain to them the facts, give them the projects that they are actually working on and the way they are feeding their family today, and how that project came about. It came about through three monumental pieces of legislation, after he saved our pensions that are now creating the biggest Infrastructure Boom we have ever seen, and we call it the Infrastructure Generation joe biden is creating and its the only time in history we can compare it to is when the gis came back from world war ii, came back to build the middle class and their own lives after they saved the world and thats the scale we are at right now, with the most pro Union President , pro worker president this country has ever seen. Thats the conversations we are having, and we will have them oneonone and in the key states and we have months and months. We already started and we are already laying out the facts and we see the results. Good morning. Its willie geist, and we are looking at the list of unions that support the president. You are not alone. As you said in the ad, it became a punch line in the trump words it was the infrastructure week, and he was going to spend that trillion he promised in the infrastructure that never came, and 2021, biden is in the white house and the Infrastructure Bill went out the door, and that money, you can see the signs all over the country. When you say joe biden is the most pro union, pro worker president in history, thats a huge claim. What makes you say that . Well, we can say that by not only the pieces of legislation he passed but by the language in the legislation that ensures those jobs will be good, from the manufacturing jobs that we are rebuilding in this country via the chips and science act to the Construction Jobs where we have the prerequisite labor standards involved in the jobs, and via the regulatory work being done followed up in the legislation, so we know these are going to be middle class family sustaining jobs and my members will have many of those jobs. Mike barnicle joins the table now and he has the next question. Mike . Shawn, that was a good definitive outline of donald trump, and you know the unions around the country, but tell me, what is your instinct . Why do so many of the Union Members you represent still have a cultural hold on donald trump, still seem to want to vote for him . What is the deal with them . Well, i i think quite honestly, my membership reflected the country, and so that base trump has, the 20 to 30 of people that went with him will stay with him, and what matters is the 15 of people that are persuadable and open to hearing the facts and making up their own mind with them and their family around their Kitchen Table and saying, you know, our lives have definitively changed for the better because of the work that joe biden and Kamala Harris have done, and we will change our mind in how we vote this time. For get about all the baggage and rhetoric and all the threats, and also a lot of our members are patriots. They do not like the way this president the expresident is talking about what he will do if elected to another term. Believe it or not, we are capitalists and patriots, and not just for our trade but for the whole of the country, and joe biden and harris let us Out Of The Wilderness through the pandemic, and created unbelievable opportunities like we havent seen since world war ii, and lets stick with the pocketbook initiative, and what do you fear most and hope for most . What do your members think is the biggest priority in voting for joe biden . Its jobs and rising wages, quite unhonestly, and the costs being associated with being a family in the United States, and we generous settlements that weve seen in decades and decades, if you take ups or the uaw. The same things happening around our bargaining tables. They see themselves moving forward economically now. To back it up, it doesnt matter how much money you make in your collective Bargaining Agreement if you dont have a job because youre not going to make anything. The jobs are so abundant, today, quite honestly, when the president is done, well give him a pair of boots, customized work boots because weve got so much work. He has created so many jobs, when we get a little short, call 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and say mr. President , we need you for a couple of days on an Infrastructure Project to help us out because were short of people. Where things stand in Donald Trumps Hush Money Trial after a onetime friend of the former president testified about the back room deals aimed at helping Donald Trumps 2016 campaign. Morning joe is back in a moment. Moment with so many choices on booking. Com there are so many tina feys i could be. So i hired body doubles. 30,000 followers tina in a boutique hotel. Or 30,000 steps tina in a mountain cabin. Ooh booking. Com booking. Yeah coming up, well be joined by one of the stars of the critically acclaimed fx series show gun on the heels of last nights finale. Morning joe is back in a moment. Ack in a moment. The day began with some fireworks, there were several heated exchanges between trumps lawyers and the judges in the hearing about whether he violated the gag order he said his arguments didnt make sense, he presented nothing, and he was losing all credibility with the court. Blanche fired back, your honor, i lost all credibility when i agreed to represent donald trump. That is not an issue. This is a complicated issue about balancing rights. Basically the prosecutions argument is that a juror has the right to feel safe while serving on Donald Trumps jury. While Donald Trumps argument is that that juror lives at 34 west 52nd street, and maybe someone should pay that juror a visit and straighten them out. This gag order is serious. Trump might have to pay up to 1,000 per violation. Yeah, 1,000, thats not going to stop trump from talking. You got to deal with this like any other tantrum, you got to give trump an ipad with cocoa melon on it and let him zone out. Donald trumps day in court will have expert legal analysis. Just ahead on yesterdays gag order hearing, and testimony against the former president. Welcome to the fourth hour of morning joe. Its 6 00 a. M. On the west coast and 9 00 a. M. In the east. Along with willie and me, we have Mike Barnicle and katy tur. We have donny deutsch, and cohost of the weekend, Symone Sanders townsend. Good to have you all with us. The Supreme Court is going to hear arguments on whether donald trump can claim immunity for his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. First the court will hear arguments today in a case concerning Reproductive Rights, raising the legal and political stakes heading into the november election. Nbc news senior washington correspondent Hallie Jackson reports. Reporter a new flash point this morning in the battle over abortion rights with the Supreme Court set to hear arguments in another potential block buster case. The question, whether a federal law guaranteeing Emergency Care for patients overrides an idaho law banning most abortions with exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother. The Biden Administration says that federal law should take precedence, arguing idahos law requires doctors to wait until the health of a pregnant patient gets worse before deciding whether to perform an abortion. Idahos attorney in a statement accuses the administration of showing a reckless disregard for idahos right to protect life. The Biden Administration has twisted this law. Theyre trying to use federal executive power when the law does not support it. Reporter with idaho allowed to enforce the near total abortion ban, for now, many ob gyns are leaving the state. She says idahos law has created a dilemma for doctors. The position on the ground is being stuck having to decide do i act now so she doesnt have any irreparable harm or wait until theres no longer a fetal heart beat that could risk her health. Thats an impossible situation to be stuck in. This is the second major Reproductive Rights case in front of the justices this term. Two years after the landmark Dobbs Decision Overturning Roe v. Wade. Since then, more than a dozen states have put in place stricter abortion bans. The legal fight, raising the political stakes heading into the november election with voters likely to decide abortion rights on ballot measures this fall. President biden in florida tuesday slamming that states sixweek abortion ban set to go into effect just days from now, and pinning the blame on his predecessor. It was donald trump who ripped away the rights and freedoms of women in america. It will be all of us who restore those rights for women in america. So before we get to Donald Trumps unbelievable day in court yesterday in New York City, Symone Sanders townsend, idaho, florida, may 1st, a sixweek ban going into this is across the country where women, democrats and republicans and the men who love them and the children who need them are going to be going through trauma because they cannot receive medical care. And were not talking about lines of nine months pregnant women outside abortion clinics like the kind of archaic way that republicans would like to paint the abortion issue. Were talking about women who may have fibroids, who may be going through menopausal symptoms. Women who may not be pregnant but may need treatment that is along the lines of using procedures that are similar to that of terminations. And also women who have dangerous pregnancies or miscarriages. Theyre going to see this play out in realtime. It seems to me the timing is bad for republicans, and its terrible for women. To say the least, mika, i think its very clear that, you know, republicans across the country and republican activists and organizers have not been campaigning on for the last 50 years jailing women and doctors for receiving the care they need. Right . They have not been necessarily campaigning on criminalizing abortion. They havent been campaigning on almost letting women die in hospital rooms and at homes all across the country, but thats exactly what has happened since the Dobbs Decision overturned roe v. Wade and returned it to the states. This is not, i mean, i heard mara gay on earlier, and i want to vehemently agree with her. This is not about republicans versus democrats on this particular issue for the women and the families out there in the country. This is a health care issue, which is why i do think that the Biden Campaign and democrats writ large are on frankly very solid footing. The Vice President , i have heard her talk about this as a Health Crisis in america, and that is exactly what this is. Vice president harris has been in arizona. We saw the president in florida talking about that sixweek ban. You can throw in alabama, and the threat to ivf there. These are popping up all across the country and the Biden Campaign, and women across the country will make sure to highlight that. Donald trump was back on social media railing against the judge in his New York City Hush Money Trial. This comes after an eventful day in court yesterday, to say the least where a former tabloid publisher took to the stand to make allegations about the former president s 2016 campaign operations. Nbc news senior Legal Correspondent, Laura Jarrett, has details. Reporter a trump insider tells all, david peck e the long time publisher of the National Enquirer sitting for hours on the witness stand at former President Trumps criminal trial. As the prosecution scrolled through pages of tabloid headlines, some praising donald trump, others making brazen, unfounded claims about his 2024 rivals, like ted cruz, all a product of what pecker described as a secret agreement among friends for him to help get mr. Trump elected. A plan that pecker also says involved paying people off so they couldnt go public like the 30,000 he gave a doorman who was shopping a false story about mr. Trump fathering his housekeepers baby, testimony revealed from the actual 34 counts mr. Trump faces in the indictment for the alleged crime of falsifying Business Records. The likely gop nominee has denied all wrong doing, but prosecutors hope pecker will show the jury a long standing pattern of a president ial hopeful motivated to silence those that could derail his campaign and then covering his tracks with a phony paper trail. This as the judge is mulling whether the former president violated his gag order and must be held in contempt for attacking trial witnesses online. Im not sure that anybody has seen anything like this. This is like reading a novel. So i put an article and somebodys name is mentioned somewhere deep in the article and i end up in violation of the gag order. Mr. Trumps defense team now trying to fend off a 10,000 fine arguing that its unfair to hold him accountable for reposting criticism others have voiced about certain witnesses. The judge appearing unpersuaded, eventually warning lead Defense Attorney todd blanche, you are losing all credibility with the court. Nbcs Laura Jarrett reporting there. Lets bring in Investigative Reporter for the New York Times, suzanne craig. She was inside the courthouse, also with us, former assistant District Attorney in manhattan, nbc news legal analyst, catherine christian, good morning to you both. Ill start with you since you were down there yesterday. Lets start with the gag order first. Donald trump saying all i did was repost other people violating the gag order. Thats a thin defense from the charges that hes violated the gag order ten times. We heard judge merchan becoming frustrated in the courtroom. Do you suspect that were going to hear that, yes, in fact, he did violate the gag order and if so, is it a fine . What comes after that . It seems likely thats where its heading. The judge was just very frustrated, at points growing angry over what todd blanches presentation. At one point the judge is asking for precedent, bring me a legal argument for what youre saying, and todd blanche is saying there is no precedent. Its just common sense. And i think what donald trump was learning for his whole life words have had very little value to him, but in court, theres consequences for this. And i think we can see anything from a fine potentially to, you know, im not sure its going to go to go to incarceration, thats an option. But i think theres some other things open to the judge. For example, there could be somebody put in place to vet his tweets, somebody maybe on his legal team or somebody else. I think there could be other things the judge is going to consider. One thing i felt certain about sitting in the courtroom is something is going to happen to clamp down on this. Catherine, you have been around for for a while in courts. Ever seen anything like this . Ever heard of anything like this . No, ive seen defendants misbehave because, you know, that happens, and its interesting because judge merchan is the presiding judge of the Mental Health court in manhattan. He has been doing that for years. Hes probably seen it. So i dont want to make light of that, but quite frankly, thats the only time ive seen it when youve had sort of an unwell person. Donald trump obviously in the courtroom is now behaving himself but coming out of the courtroom and continuing to violate this gag order, that i havent seen repeated violations. When you do see it, they get more than the fine, defendants. In the real world when you violate orders in the criminal world theres a consequence, and its usually incarceration if its repeated. Do you want to guess how much money donald trump would raise if he were incarcerated even for a night. And i dont think that will happen. What will the judge do after he fines him and this weekend, assuming thats what he does, what is the judge going to do. We hear hes slumped over, cold, when he walks in, he looks at the jurors. Hes cold, hes hot. Theres a lot going on there. Ive got a view of him because im in an overflow room, and weve got a monitor where i can see him. If i had to describe, you know, theres been occasions where he has, i think, nodded off, and were very careful when we report that. Theres been a couple of times where hes had his eyes closed, is he sleeping, i dont know, but occasionally his head will go down while his eyes are closed and then it will snap back up. There was one incident on i think it was tuesday where his lawyer passed him a note and he had his eyes closed and i was watching it, and he had to nudge him awake. He jolted awake. For the most part, he has a scowl on his face, that would be 90 of the time, and hes sometimes looking just dead ahead, watching the proceedings. He seemed engaged with watching pecker, there wasnt a lot of emotion. The one time we saw him animated, smiling or laughing, there were two jurors who had read art of the deal, there was one juror who said she was watching tv on her coach. Thats the only time we have seen him light up. Never underestimate his ability to be flattered when somebody said theyve read one of their books. We are a couple of days into testimony. I wonder if you could give a score card on how you think the prosecution is doing up until now . How is it going . So far, and i always caution people, direct examination, wait for the cross because direct, you can have a witness who does well, and the prosecutor sits down and says phew. You have an excellent Defense Attorney who can come up and not just destroy a witness but make points for their case. Mr. Pecker has been very good for the prosecution. He has been very credible in that he is his authentic self. Im a Checkbook Journalism guy. This is what i do. What he also does, which the defense will cross him on, he spent his career as a publisher lying, having stories in the National Enquirer that arent true. They could make use of that. But in terms of establishing the conspiracy, the trump tower meeting after donald trump announced his candidacy its very important that david pecker establish that. Hes the one whos going to be the eyes and ears, and Michael Cohen was the goto person whos going to learn about the negative stories and give donald trump the headsup. David pecker is important in establishing the conspiracy that allegedly exists. So suzanne, i want to get to donnie and the dynamic of no crowd out there clapping and applauding and waving signs. Well get to that in a moment. First, in terms of his behavior in and out out of the courtroom and the gag order, im wondering if it strikes you at all just from covering this that he hasnt mentioned pecker in his truth social posts or any of his rants. It just seems like hes dancing around that one. Maybe thats just me, but he goes after Michael Cohen. He goes after other witnesses but not pecker. Thoughts . Absolutely right. And Michael Cohen has been very vocal in going after him. And they have sort of a sparring match. David pecker has not entered this at all in terms of any sort of social media posts that donald trump has done. You know, youre left to wonder and we just dont know, is there a reason behind the scenes. Is there something about the relationship between the two men, something they know about each other thats causing him to hold back. We just dont know. So far it hasnt happened, and it didnt happen overnight. I just also want to say, david pecker is going to be very interesting on crossexamination. We dont know, first of all, what will come up about him, what donald trump may know that could come up, and its also, to counter point, it was an excellent point, david pecker has been i found him very credible on the stand in terms of his presentation, but you have to remember, it seems now at this point donald trump and david pecker are the god fathers of fake news, and thats going to hurt david pecker when crossexamination comes. Hes saying they made up stories, and i think theyre going to use that to undermine his credibility. Youre absolutely right. So far theres been nothing on social media from donald trump to david pecker. Hes holding back on that. Yeah, he doesnt touch it. All right. So first knowing him, but both of you, about sort of the showman that donald trump is. You know he loves to have his rallies, he gets the crowd going. Theyre screaming. Theyre applauding for them saying the most Disgusting Things about january 6th hostages and a choir and crowds going wild. They love it. He loves it, and hes got this energy. And he walks outside the courtroom, and every day hes got this opportunity before walking in and after walking out to talk to the cameras. But i think its a very different scene. Its dark, its gloomy, hes got the worst fluorescent lighting going right through his hair. I just wonder if he feels just not like he can really do his thing from this position, and also the people taking pictures and asking questions. Its the new york media. Maybe some people on the street if theyre there. It just doesnt seem like hes got his game on, even though its an opportunity to do something. I think the net, net, net, when you watch whats going on with him, with his trial is a yuck. The whole thing is yuck. Just gross. The whole thing is sleazy, tawdry. The story we did before this is about abortion and Womens Health rights and then you see this circus act, the sleaze act, the greasy, slimy story, and i think its tired. This feels like a moment in time. You look at it and obviously theres abortion and democracy issues and two wars going on and theres a crisis at the border, and i just think the average american looks at this and says ive had enough. Ive had enough. You know, this has been a show. Whether you like it or hate it, weve leaned in since he came down the elevator in 2015. It feels like a time people are leaning out. Theyve just this enough. The exhaustion factor. Stop it. I cant look. The lack of crowds, speak to that, there are no crowds outside, eight people, ten people, twelve people, somebody with their iphone holding it up. And theyre not trump supporters, theres a few. But a lot of them are qanon and conspiracy people. It just feels like its over. This was the trial that was not going to matter. This is not the election stealing trial, the insurrection trial. This was not the documents trial. This was a trial that it wouldnt matter as it shows that he just doesnt seem to matter as much anymore. I dont know. It feels like sometimes the emperor has no clothes, and it feels like one of those moments. Were hearing about his private life. Nobody wants to know about it. Nobody wants to imagine that. Nobody wants that mental image, and on top of it, youve got this guy named pecker. Pecker, pecker, if you wrote this in a script and tried to sell it, they would be like, please, the over the top is too much for me. I take donnies point, he looks small and its diminishing. He was the 45th president of the United States of america. The presidency is the pinnacle of everything and not just here in america, i mean, across the world and sitting in a courtroom, standing outside of that courtroom with the bad fluorescent lighting. He looks small. This does not look like a world leader. I think the pictures and these images are making this across, you know, they are making this into as i like to say, the nonpolitical group chats. I think the details here, though, which is why the reporting and people like suzanne, people who have been in and out of the courtroom throughout the trial, and catherine, who can break down what all of these things mean, the detriment to the American People is they cannot see it for themselves. And i think the best thing that happened for the American People while donald trump was president was the covid briefings. They could see the crazy for themselves. And they are not able to see the crazy for themselves. They have to read about it and live vicariously through mika and is reenactment of the pecker on the stand. I dont think it doesnt matter, its just not front and center in a way that is completely accessible to them. So some of the details are missed, which is why what we do here is so important. Yeah. Investigative reporter for the New York Times, suzanne craig, i truly apologize, and nbc news legal analyst, catherine christian, thank you both very much for being on this morning. Its just a lot. Coming up on morning joe, profits plunge at tesla. Down 55 as analysts say it is a makeorbreak moment for the electric car manufacturer. Will the companys new offerings such as fully autonomous cyber cab help turn things around . Nearly one in five American Workers are bound by competes, but now a sweeping new action will do away with such agreements for nearly all jobs across the country. Well break down all of this when cnbcs Andrew Ross Sorkin joins us next. Well be right back. Well be right back. Smile you found it. The feeling of finding psoriasis cant filter out the real you. So go ahead, live unfiltered with the one and only sotyktu, a oncedaily pill for moderate to Severe Plaque Psoriasis, and the chance at clear or almost clear skin. 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Xfinity mobile just got even better now, you can automatically connect to wifi speeds up to a gig on the go. Plus, buy one unlimited line and get one free for a year. I gotta get this deal. Thats like 20 a month per unlimited line. I dont want to miss that. Thats amazing doc. Mobile savings are calling. Visit xfinitymobile. Com to learn more. Doc . When others divide. We unite. With Real Solutions to help our kids. Like community schools. Neighborhood hubs that provide everything from Mental Health services to food pantries. Academic tutoring to prom dresses. Healthcare to after care. Community schools can wrap so much around public schools. And through meaningful partnerships with families, they become centers of their communities. Real solutions for kids and communities at aft. Org a live picture of the Beautiful Library in philadelphia at 9 26 in the morning. President biden and donald trump both won easily their primaries in Battle Ground pennsylvania last night. Biden won about 88 of democratic primary voters while 83 of gop primary voters went for trump. It is worth noting more than 155,000 Republican Voters cast a ballot for nikki haley who of course dropped out of the race back in march. In 2020, biden won the state by about 80,000 votes. And when it comes to the senate, democratic incumbent bob casey will face republican challenger david mccormick. A high stakes contest, expected to cost hundreds of millions of dollars and could help decide control of the senate last year. Mccormick lost in the primary last go around to dr. Oz after President Trump endorsed dr. Oz instead of mccormick. Katty kay, back to the nikki haley number, theres a pattern here. Were seeing it in arizona. We saw it in wisconsin. I mean, 155,000 votes in the state of pennsylvania obviously could be decisive in the general election if those Voters Decide to either sit out or to vote for President Biden. These are not marginal numbers anymore. She won 16 of the vote in a race she dropped out of almost two months ago. Its not nothing, is. It and it gives you an indication that there are people in the Republican Party that consider themselves republicans. Chris christie telling us, dont want to vote for joe biden and switch over to the democratic side, but clearly not happy with donald trump. What are those people going to do, those 155,000 people, what are they going to do in november. Theyre motivated voters. The fact that you vote in a primary suggests youre a high educated, high interest type of voter. Theyre probably going to want to do something in november, but they have made it clear in this vote that they dont want to vote for donald trump. These are states that are going to be won on margins. Joe biden won arizona by 10,000 votes, georgia, famously by 11,000 votes. Tiny numbers which makes 155,000 a sizable number of people, who could potentially swing pennsylvania one way or the other. Its a big vote and a big antitrump vote within the gop. And theres a good reason the Biden Campaign, the Democratic Party nationally is courting actively and aggressively the nikki haley voters. As we saw again last night, theres a lot of them who may be up for grabs in the fall. Lets turn to the situation at Columbia University. The school says its in talks now, the student organizers on a deal to clear out the protest encampment on campus, amid demonstrations surrounding the war in gaza that have upended the final weeks of the Spring Semester there. Nbc news correspondent, Erin Mclaughlin has the latest. Reporter nationwide unrest at College Campuses across the country reporting progress in negotiations with propalestinian protesters who have been encamped on campus since last week. A columbia spokesperson telling nbc news this morning students have committed to dismantling and removing a significant number of tents and have agreed to prohibit discriminatory and harassing language, with the growing pressure on the president. Amid allegations the university is not doing enough to adequately protect the safety of jewish students. At the end of the day, we cant be enabling hate or incitement of violence or disruption to students. Reporter columbias encampment inspiring protesters at at least 15 other students including at cal poly, where dozens occupied a campus building and at the university of minnesota, nine were detained for trespassing. Students at nyu walking out of class on tuesday. Im absolutely appalled, horrified and terrified by what happened last night. Reporter expressing their outrage over the 120 people detained on campus during heated confrontations with police during a propalestinian protest monday night. A jewish faculty member was among those arrested. There was a call for prayer began and they sent in the riot squad. Reporter when you saw the riot police, what went through your mind . I grabbed my daughter, handed her to my wife and told her to get out of there as quickly as possible. Reporter University Officials say disorderly, disruptive, and antagonizing behavior was happening, before police moved in where riot gear and zip ties. Universities struggling with the unrest as some fear for their safety. Its hard to see that we have reached such a point where we cant talk to each other. Nbcs Erin Mclaughlin reporting for us there. We will note that officials at Columbia University have said the conversations with those student protesters will continue for another 48 hours. Meanwhile, house Speaker Mike Johnson announced he will visit columbia this afternoon travel to go new york to meet with jewish students. Speaker johnson is set to discuss the troubling rise of antisemitism on americas College Campuses. Donny deutsch, conversation, columbia says theres progress here. The fact of the matter is the damage is done. They can agree to not using inflammatory, discriminatory language but they have been using it for a week. Theres a distinction between the kids on the campus and the outside agitators who have been locked outside where some of the worst of the language is going on, and things we have heard and the harassment of people just walking down the street, frankly, as i know from a lot of People Living up there. Is it too little too late for columbia here, donny . Im kind of moved by the word negotiating, if theyre negotiating with students, with protesters, ones who are prohamas, ones who are burn down israel, ones who are antisemitic, hatred towards jews, there has to be a negotiation to get them to stop. If you didnt see it, joe and Scott Galloway were on talking wonderfully about that if this was any other group there would not be a negotiation. If somebody came on and said lets bring violence against mexicans or asians or any other group, there would not be a negotiation. They would be carried off the campus, but still, with jews, with israel, its a double standard, and the other wing i want to say, and i wish people would interview the protesters and ask them not only how they feel about israel, but how do you feel about the United States, and i would love to hear what comes out of their mouth about whats wrong with this country and whats wrong with the United States, and so i think underneath this, theres not only a hatred for israel, theres a hatred for the things we stand for in this country. I would love people to talk about these people. How do you feel about living here, how do you feel about capitalism. Be interesting to hear the answers. You know what answer would be. Well be following this. Also yesterday the federal trade Commission Voted to approve a nationwide ban on noncompete agreements, preventing people from taking jobs at their employers competitors. Usually for a specified amount of time. It is estimated that 30 million American Workers are currently bound by such measures. Yes, i was in one of those. Lets bring in Andrew Ross Sorkin, coanchor of squawkbox. How much do noncompetes play a role in their lives . They play a huge role, and an almost unspoken role in our economy. You know, i think people often times associate noncompete agreements with very highend work, people getting paid hundreds of thousands, millions of dollars. People even in the tv business that cant go from one network to another because of the way the contracts are constructed. The truth is there are noncompetes throughout our economy, and oftentimes in places where they really shouldnt be, and thats where this ftc decision really strikes at. You know, if youre a hairdresser in this country, oftentimes when you take a job at a hair salon, part of the agreement is you cannot go work at another hair salon within a 30 mile radius. So this new decision effectively would prevent that and prevent it across the board. There are waiters and waitresses in america that are working at a restaurant today that cant go work at a competitor, and therefore, by the way, cant negotiate for a higher salary, and thats the most important component of this decision. Now, we should also note business is pushing back. Big business is pushing back, the chamber of commerce filing a lawsuit against this. Suggesting not only is this unconstitutionally, the ftc itself is unconstitutional. I should say theres a threshold so that employees who are paid more than 151,000 and have a role in some kind of policy of the way the company is developing, meaning higher up people and management alike can have noncompetes, so that still is going to be a feature of these things, but for a lot of americans, it could be a boon. Could raise wages, by the way, the ftc saying by 524 per person. We talked just recently, and i want to make one very important point about how theres a lack of mobility in America Today in terms of physical mobility. If people own homes, they have low mortgages, they cant move anywhere right now because the mortgages are too high. Well, thats actually a big problem, and this noncompete thing makes it even harder for them to go find jobs locally. Getting rid of the noncompete agreements could be a real help. Interesting. Lets talk about tesla. What is going on. Stocks are falling, but evs could be the savior . Well see. Tesla shares have been down 40 . Revenue is down 9 , and a lot of focus on a Conference Call that elon musk gave to investors about the future of the company. He is now indicating that tesla is going to make a cheaper vehicle, something on the order of 25,000, 30,000 vehicle. A lot of investors were looking and hoping that might be the case. The stock of tesla is still at a premium to almost every other auto maker in the world, and you almost have to believe if you are investing in tesla today, its not just a car company but may become a robotaxi company, maybe a Technology Company and the like. He is still planning or says hes planning to develop automated vehicles, and the question of course is when. Were all going to be waiting for that. A lot of folks have been waiting for that for a very long time. Well be watching. Cnbcs Andrew Ross Sorkin, thank you very much. Thank you. And coming up, we have reaction from capitol hill on the foreign aid bills, including Mitch Mcconnells comments on whos to blame for the delay in critical funding. Morning joe is coming right back. Ding morning joe is coming right back my moderate to Severe Plaque Psoriasis held me back. Now with skyrizi, im all in with clearer skin. Things are getting clearer. i feel free. To bear my skin, yeah thats all me. Nothing is everything with skyrizi, 3 out of 4 people achieved 90 clearer skin at 4 months. And most people were clearer even at 5 years. Skyrizi is just 4 doses a year, after 2 starter doses. Serious allergic reactions. And an increased risk of infections. Or a lower ability to fight them may occur. Tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms,. Had a vaccine, or plan to. Nothing and me go handinhand, nothing on my skin, thats my new plan. Nothing is everything nows the time,. Ask your doctor about skyrizi,. The number one. Dermatologistprescribed biologic in psoriasis. Learn how abbvie could help you save. I left a message for president zelenskyy tonight. He had called me the other day and said, okay, we got it done. Now go win the fight. How long do you think this package will last . Its a very full package. Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer speaking with reporters after the Senate Passed the houses foreign aid package. In total, about 95 billion will go toward assisting ukraine and israels war efforts as well as aid to gaza and money to counter chinas impression in the indopacific. The legislation also gives tiktoks china based Parent Company nine months to sell the platform or be banned in the United States. President biden confirmed he will sign the bill later today, so the weapons and equipment can get to ukraine within the week. Senate Minority Leader Mitch Mcconnell meanwhile among those praising the foreign aid bill last night, and blaming former fox news host Tucker Carlson and former President Donald Trump for the amount of time it took to get through congress. Demonization of ukraine began by Tucker Carlson. Who in my opinion, ended up where he should have been all along, which is interviewing vladimir putin. And so he had an enormous audience, which convincd a lot of rank and file republicans that maybe this was a mistake. And then our nominee for president didnt seem to want us to do anything at all. That took months to work our way through it. Meanwhile, mcconnells colleague, republican senator Lindsey Graham who voted against the foreign aid package in february because it did not include tougher immigration policies at the border, switched in favor yesterday. Senator graham, initially a major proponent of the bipartisan border bill but flipped on that after donald trump encouraged republicans to kill the legislation. Heres what graham had to say on the senate floor last night. Everybody who comes on this floor and says our border is broken we should do something about it, youre absolutely right. And unfortunately we didnt get there. President trump opposed a senate bill, we couldnt find a better way forward that would get 60 votes. I hate that. But now we have to deal with whats left for us to take care of in the world. So senator graham there saying out loud what we know to be true which was there was a bipartisan package, unlike anything conservatives have seen in generations, actually. It was on the table. They walked away from it because as senator graham said there donald trump opposed it. Im curious for your analysis of what we have seen here over the last week. On the one hand, you had speaker johnson finally finding his courage and talking about the reagan republican he says he is in our defense of ukraine and how important that is, and effectively telling Marjorie Taylor greene and those extremists in the maga coalition. Come at me. If you want to have a motion to get rid of the speaker, do t but im going to lead the passage of the bill and some of the senators going after openly on this anyway, donald trump and Tucker Carlson and other people they bowed to in the past. Whats going on . Well, i think a couple of things, willie. First and foremost, everyone should look at the actions of everyone from senator Lindsey Graham to even donald trump, Marjorie Taylor greene, Mitch Mcconnell and speaker johnson and ask yourself is this a moment or is this a movement. And i think as it relates to Lindsey Graham, i dont know why senator graham does what he does sometimes because for a very long time, he espoused the belief that senator mcconnell had, that getting security and aid to ukraine is important to americas security. Its what the secretary of nato told us this weekend on the weekend. He said this is important for the world. Speaker johnson, we need to see if this is a moment or Real Movement. I think there are two things, his son being enrolled in the Naval Academy this fall and the real reality setting in for him after seeing the intelligence and reading for himself, being briefed at the highest levels of what this means for not just ukraine but europe and the entire western world, i think that weighed heavily on him, and he kind of snapped out of whatever trance he has been in and said, okay, look, this may be my only chance to do something, and this is within my power to control. What i can do is ensure this gets on the floor. Is this Real Movement . Does this mean that speaker johnson is not going to continue to align himself with donald trump, an unelected individual whos currently pulling the reins of the United States house of representatives. We have to wait and see. He should be commended for what has happened here. This fight is not over. Is this the only aid bill that ukraine and our allies are going to see between now and the end of the year . Is this going to be enough . Ukraine still hasnt gotten some of what has been allocated from the last bill that was passed, and so people had to Pay Attention here, and this is not just a Foreign Policy issue, this is, in fact, a domestic policy situation. Symone sanders townsend, thank you so much for coming on this morning. Of course well be watching the weekend saturday and sunday mornings beginning at 8 00 a. M. Right here on msnbc. Thanks. And donny deutsch, thank you as well. Good to have you all this morning. And coming up on morning joe,. War is coming. Life and death are the same. Both can have value and purpose. That was part of the trailer for shogun, the hit fx show that has been called the most epic series since game of thrones, and one of the stars joins us live in studio on the heels of the thrilling finale. Youre watching morning joe. Well be right back. Atching mo well be right back. Why choose a sleep number smart bed . Can i make my side softer . I like my side firmer. Sleep number does that. Save 40 on the sleep Number Limited Edition smart bed or 0 interest for 36 months. Shop now at sleepnumber. Com even Space Age Technology cant prevent accidents at work. So talk to your agent about workerss comp insurance from pie, or visit pieinsurance. Com. Safety first, then pie insurance. Choosing a treatment for your chronic migraine 15 or more headache days a month, each lasting 4 hours or more can be overwhelming. So, ask your doctor about botox®. 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From hospitals to hospitality, people rely on propanean Energy Source thats affordable, plentiful, and environmentally friendly for everyone. Get the facts at propane. Com now. Do not be fooled by our politeness, our rituals. Death is in our air and sea and earth, just remember we live and we die. I control nothing beyond that. Theres a saying out here, every man has three hearts. One in his mouth for the world to know, another in his chest, thats for his friends, and the secret heart buried deep where no one can find it. That is a look at the critically acclaimed limited serious shogun on fx. Its based on the 1985 historical fiction novel of the same name. It tells the story of feudal japan and a nation embroiled in politics with religion and foreign interests also playing a critical role. Forbes has called shogun the best show on tv right now. And times says it isnt a will remake, its a revelation. Shogun is the genuine tv epic youve been waiting for. The full series is available now on hulu, and the star of the series is the Award Winning ak tror, hiruhiruyuki so na toe, bt train, john wick, avengers, youve been in a ton of movies. Everybody is talking about this series. For people who havent seen it yet, set the table a little bit. Where do we find ourselves as the series begins with your character . Yeah, it was a great experience, you know. This is my favorite character because hes a hero in japan, and i spent a great time in vancouver as a producer and as an actor as well. We had a great cooperation between western team and Japanese Team all working together, you know, so it was an east meets west dream team we had on set. So i spent a great time with them. I almost wanted to call you lord torinaga. Youre here physically right in front of me and the conclusion of the series is a dream of a dream. Thats the caption, the title of the series. Was making this series win of your dreams as an actor, as a japanese man . Was it . Kind of, yes. Introduce our history, culture to the world. Its very important. Thats why we try to make authentic as much as possible, and, yeah, it was a meaningful shooting and then showing to the world. Im so happy to have had a finale yesterday. Im proud of my crew and cast. Its a pleasure to see you here, and you also not only having done this, youre also the only japanese actor ever to have acted with the Royal Shakespeare company when you played the fool in king lear. Its not easy for japanese actors to breakthrough in the United States or in the united kingdom. I was just wondering how you think youve managed to do it . Yeah, playing shakespeare was my biggest challenge in my life. First shakespeare english in front of the live audiences, yeah, but it was a great experience mixing culture creates something new, no one ever see, you know. I felt this kind of International Project going to be my next mission in my life i thought. Then i took the audition for the last samurai, and then jumped into hollywood, so that experience changed my life, and yeah, i wanted to keep continue film making in hollywood or anywhere in the world. I cannot change something just one movie or tv show. I wanted to continue, just keep continue and get to somewhere next step, so this 20 years i had a great experience during the shooting show or movies, then i put all my experience into shogun. So i think all the experience worked and brought me here now. Well, its all paying off. You heard all the praise, the critical praise i read, people comparing it favorably to game of thrones in its scope. It is truly an epic and the finale and the entire series is available on hulu. Congratulations and thank you so much for being here today. Thank you for having me. Thank you. And that does it for us this morning. Well be right back here tomorrow morning. Ana cabrera picks up the coverage in just two minutes. 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