Former president attends his younger sons high school graduation. For moment it looks like House Republicans would lose control of the floor because so many republicans have going have been going to see Donald Trumps trial. President trump is unjustly not allowed to speak. The judicial system has been westernized. This is a scam, a sham, a show. That courtroom is depressing. One of the most depressing places a better my life. Michael cohen is the prosecutions star witness. Hes the only one that testified the former president has advanced knowledge of the plan to pay off daniels. Is there any sense that you can believe anything Michael Cohen says . The defense will finish cross tomorrow. Good evening, once again bid we are now 172 days away from the election. It was a pivotal week in former president s new york criminal trial. Star witness and ekstrom fixer, Michael Cohen, took the stand and faced heated Cross Examination Were Trump Steen questioned a key part of his testimony. Meanwhile, trumps positive oil republicans trashed the case on his behalf in front of cameras outside the courthouse. Trump himself had the day off of trial, to attend his youngest sons high school graduation. Its time for the nightcap and its a great one. We have the editor in chief of the worlds greatest magazine, vanity fair, Andrew Weissman joins us, now an Nyu Law Professor and msnbc legal analyst, nancy giles, emmy winning contributor to Cbs News Sunday Morning and one of our favorites, and one of my favorites at this network, michael steele, former chairman other public and national committee, former Lieutenant Governor of maryland, cohost of the weekend right here on msnbc. Welcome. Andrew, you know we are going to you first. Your assessment of this week in court and the fact that youre not wearing a red tie is disappointing. Im not a mini me and im not seeking vice presidency. Yeah. Actually, on that, good point and segue. That and the denigration of the rule of law, which is them standing out there repeating the donald trump rule of law is for other people rhetoric is exactly what connects this to samuel alito and the flag outside. You were jumping ahead. Exactly. Give us your sense of this week in court. Mike you want to do court . Okay. Liberates. How do you think things went . Its interesting. Todd blanche finally had a good day, but its also Michael Cohen. Before he went on, is there anyone here who said that would go well . It was not going to because he has committed so many different crimes, and there are so many different ways to cross him. Putting it in perspective, i have never done a trial where there isnt something where the defense says about one of your cooperators, they are lying. You know what this was . He made a mistake and thats it. Of course, the defense is going to say, its a lie, but it was obviously a mistake because there were six other calls they have not touched with the president of United States and thats much more important. A mistake is a good thing for the defense. They want to capitalize on it and say it exemplifies the whole case and we will see what the jury thinks. How do you think todd blanche did . He painted Michael Cohen as a sleazy liar and hustler but heres the thing. Donald trump hired him to be a liar and a bully and a hustler. Thats probably one of the most fascinating aspects of the approach. The guy you are trying to paint in a certain way was the guy that donald trump himself wanted. Michael cohen was the guy that, you know, he wanted to be his right cone. He was disbarred. You wanted him to be the lawyer who would go and fix things for him, so that would entail everything. Todd would say, well what about this, donald trump wanted me to do that, thats why he hired me. I was fascinated going into this week with this idea that somehow, the defense is going to have that moment, that Gotcha Moment and im thinking, at the end of the day, the guy in front of you went to jail for the guy on trial right now. Everything that Michael Cohen did , he did at the instruction of donald trump. Michael cohen is not cutting a check for hundred 30,000 without talking to his wife first. The reality is, where Michael Cohen ended up was this space that donald trump put him in long before they landed in that courtroom. He had to refinance his house. He didnt have that money lying around. What lawyer asked that way . Remember, Michael Cohen worshiped donald trump at the time. And works for him for many years and learned his playbook. Its interesting. Trump is such a master at projecting the bad things he does on other people but in this case, its actually playing out. I was in an acting class, okay, i know what its like to be around occult and be a little work should be towards somebody. I feel for Michael Cohen. He has shown a lot of bravery. He said he lied and paid the price, his family was threatened , and now hes trying to do well. When he was in, when he was Donald Trumps can ciliary, he was really in and now that hes out, hes really out. Can we talk about this Red Tie Brigade . Who made their way to new york city, some currently elected officials, many auditioning to be his vp, and they stood outside that courthouse, what does that say about what we might be looking at . Its just a reminder of what the trump circus looks like and i feel we had some quiet, but now, this trial is reminding everyone that with trump comes spectacle and performance and that is what we will be signing up for if he is elected again. And lawlessness. Any of these people that voted for them, any of their constituents in their home states, are they asking, who paid for her . Where is she staying . If i had a friend on trial in another city i would be taking the day off of work if i wanted to go. They are not doing their jobs in d. C. Folks dont care. Thats why they are there. The bigger prize is donald trump looks at them. Donald trump looks at them again and that is kind of their insistence. Why are they in new york . For criminal defendants, in another city. They are not doing their jobs. Is it true . Are there constituents cool with that . Every last one of them. He was getting attacked by jim jordans of the world, i know what we are doing. I used to be you. This is how it ends. This is how it ends. Dont fool yourselves. I know what you were doing. I used to be you. Very selfaware. When you get caught, that is what happens and he got caught. Really . Allen weisselberg wouldnt say that. Thats a different kind of loyalty. Thats a very specific kind of loyalty that transcends anything. Is that loyalty that he is saying i am at the end of my life, i want my family taken care of forever. Its the scene from the godfather. I know youre anxious to talk about samuel alito. If you havent seen, the New York Times of the photo, in front of his house, and upside down American Flag was hanging, some january 6 participants did it. Hes now saying, my wife did it, it wasnt me. What is your take on this . A lot of people think this is crazy, and how could he possibly preside over anything that has to do with Election Interference and donald Trump Community . One, the coverage story of my wife did it and it was in response to a neighbor . How, thank god they had a photo because otherwise this wouldnt be true so they had to have, is the flag not in front of his house . It was up for a number of days and he didnt see it . Its the most absurd story ever. Lets go to substance. That is the through line between trump, the Red Tie Brigade, Justice Alito saying the immunity argument, we cant trust the criminal justice system, because even though im a Supreme Court justice and former u. S. Attorney, we cant trust the justice department, the president should be able to roam the earth without Criminal Liability . He is in the tank. It ties to the dobbs leak, declarants thomas, what is your take . They shouldnt blame their spouses. I would get off the train there. Im done with this story. There is no more here, for me. Its appalling and its another example of how the Supreme Court also feels they should have new rules, there should be no conflicts of interest, i should get it big suv from whoever. Its baffling. Thats a mans move. If you are Chief Justice roberts, say hes upset, can he do anything . What does that do . A lot, in terms of the nine. He could signal that hearing. There were a lot of things, if youre the Chief Justice and you see whats happening, it could be institutional concern. Leaving that partisanship aside, ive got a huge problem. If you care about the legacy of his court. I think the recovery for Roberts Court will be very difficult. Largely because of everything we talked about, and the stuff that is yet to come. There is june 30th deadlines coming up and big cases are going to fall, and then there is next year, after a president ial election. Its an untenable position and i agree with you. What i know about this justice, ive spent time with him in space, hes very much and institutionalist. Hes honored by the service hes been asked to provide, and he is broken a bit by what is around him. He doesnt know how to fix it. We cant even discuss the Supreme Court without laying blame at the devilish Mitch Mcconnell and how he maneuvered and manipulated, im sorry. Im going to take a small exception. You didnt like devilish . Ill take it. At the end of the day, you did nothing. Republicans have been telegraphing for 10 or 15 years. I know. We talked about in 2010. It wasnt just about obama care. It was state legislative races, why congressional races were important. We will take a quick break. Biden and trump are no strangers to voters. So will the Debate Rematch really move the needle . Later, talking sports. I dont know but anything that happened on any field on this planet. Palate from a graduations beach given by a guy who kicks field goals for a living. Have a great night. Simparica trio is the first chew with triple protection. Whoa fleas and ticks Intestinal Worms whoa Heartworm Disease no problem with Simparica Trio this drug class has been associated with neurologic Adverse Reactions including seizures. Use with caution in dogs with a history of these disorders. For winning protection go with Simparica Trio. Norman, bad news. Use with caution in dogs with a histi never graduatedrders. From med school. What . But the good news is. 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. I know. Faster wifi and savings . I dont want to miss that. Thats amazing doc. Mobile savings are calling. Visit xfinitymobile. Com to learn more. Doc . Its a beautiful. Day to fly. Wooooo its official, President Biden supposedly, and donald trump will meet facetoface for the first time in almost four years. Candidates agreed to two debates with abc and cnn and the first is in just a month. Both are saying, i got him. Do you believe donald trump will show up . I agree 100 , i dont think donald trump will debate at all. There is no incentive for him to do it from his perspective because he already thinks the selection will be rigged against him, so why bother . He doesnt want to talk about policy. But, to the biden team, i give kudos and props. Everybody. He went full in. From the press corps to the public class, everybody was going, what . It became the conversation and the biden team owned it. The trump team owned it, to, but i thought it was a good move for the president to go, im ready. Ive got wednesdays off. It was the perfect tweet of trump to respond and what i heard the Birds Chatter about was, the team was upset because trump took the bait right out of the gate and said, absolutely, lets do this and they were like, you know, no audience. They are cutting off your microphone so when you look at the rules, thats the slide out the side door. I believe that trump jumped in and said yes, ill do it, because for trump, he changed the media narrative and created a new story that didnt involve us talking about trump. He was suddenly Candidate Trump again and could he be victorious . Thats big. He doesnt have to address whether or not hes in that debate because he will find that exit strategy. He did shift the strategy from the criminal case to that. Hes a coward. If he said he would and doesnt he will look more foolish. I would help, there would be because i wanted the biden people to put them in the front row of the audience, just like trump but all is women in the audience to distract hillary clinton. I think that they should hammer things like that when it comes to trump. After those young men were found innocent, still wanted the death penalty. Im not saying its not reprehensible but do you think that will change someones vote . It helps me. It helps my mental state. The black men that might they are coming for you, next. They will show up for debate. Is it an opportunity for joe biden to dispel the idea that yes, they are both old, but joe is weak and feeble . If these guys are Standing Shoulder to shoulder, its an opportunity for President Biden. He is the sitting president. Theyre both president s, usually you dont have that in a debate. I do think its a big opportunity for him, the first one is in june so its before the convention and it gets his voice out there in a format that he has proven to be pretty good at. I think he can remind people of basic facts. Democrats are here to protect your remaining abortion rights. This is, theres a lot of misunderstanding that still persists in our culture about who is responsible for what, i think democrats have been running well on issues around reproductive rights, for example. The economy under biden has not been in the trash fire and he needs remind people of that. Not the convention, but the actual debate. Last i checked he tried to do something on immigration. I want to share something that senator mitt romney said. Watch this. I think President Biden made an enormous error. He should have fought like crazy to keep this prosecution from Going Forward and it was win win for donald trump. I wouldve immediately pardoned him. That is principled, decent, voice of reason republican mitt romney. What are we looking at . Im not the political person. But you know the rule of law. Exactly. I love that we are talking about that. This is the friday before we hear monday whether you will take the stand and what im hearing is he wont debate or take the stand. Im just going to spin. The president of the United States, the current president of the United States has completely, the right way of dealing with it. We can deal if we think the department of justice acted properly or sufficiently and one thing that you have to have is democracy has to be defended. You dont want the president saying this is the prosecutor and this is a you dont which is what donald trump was doing. You have to weigh in. You know this man. And admired him greatly and was disappointed in that because history has told us how president s fair when they pardon a former president. That is one of the reasons why mr. Ford did not have a first term and so the reality is, the country does not look as kindly on that as we pretend to think we do. I think that if particularly given the character and nature of this particular criminal defendant, that if joe biden had pardoned him, that there would have really, been a vote to this idea of the rule of law that at no point in time under any circumstance whatsoever or any particular fact pattern, that was the worst possible signal to send from any sitting president. I want to talk about the worst possible thing we saw in washington this week. It was a hearing that took place last night. Do you know what we are here for . You are the one, order. Why dont you debate me . You dont have enough intelligence. What is going on . I dont know what motivates her. Marjorie taylor green. I guess its those things. Even with those goals in mind, it is so degrading to the institution and to adulthood and any sense of respect that we would want to accord elected leaders. Its not even that smart of aramark. Lets go there, why dont we . Why doesnt Marjorie Taylor green do her job . Shes not there to do that job. Our her constituents cool with this . You really think so . No democrat is going to win in the district and theres no republican that she knows shes safe. Lauren bogart is a whole other storyth you dont live in her district. We will leave it there. When we come back, Harrison Butker rarely misses onfield but fell flat on stage this weekend. How his comments on working women, pride month, and abortion are getting him torched by even nuns, when we continue. [sfx] water lapping. [sfx] water splashing. [sfx] ambient laughing. You knew we had a talk about this. Harrison butker, a name no one knew five days ago, everyone is talking about now. This guy gave the Commencement Speech at a Small Catholic College and is being facing major backlash. Im just going to play one of his controversial takes in case you havent heard it yet. I think its you, the women, who have had the most diabolical lies told to you. How many of you are sitting here now, about to cross the stage, thinking about all the promotions and titles youre going to get in your career . I would venture to guess the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children youll bring into this world. He said pride month was a deadly sin, and took us wing at taylor swift, her fans went bananas, she is the girlfriend of travis kelce, star of the team, but his comments were so offensive that they even pushed the nfl to distance themselves from him, and my favorite, a group of nuns who sponsor the college delivered a full takedown of this guy. I need our nightcap to weigh in. Lets start with the most beautiful irony of this. This kicker, if you dont know that position, he kicks the field and goes back to the sideline, is in this his mother is an esteemed physicist and yet , he said the role in the world is to be the wind beneath the wings of our husbands. I tried to put myself in the position of one of these students, this is a big moment to inspire your audience. I would just be baffled, sitting there. If you even agree with him, it is so weird. The majority of the country does not like that. As a single woman who didnt have kids, i think lots of Nurturing Aspects go with other kinds of work. The second thing is, the nfl came out against it and this is the quote. The nfl is steadfast in their commitment to inclusion which makes the league stronger, but not for Colin Kaepernick. This is way more offensive. I would love to give a Graduation Speech at a male university and say, i think after careful discussion with any woman you may want to impregnate, you should get vasectomies. Why are guys talking about women and their bodies . Shut up paid i will give you the reverse. Is there an argument to be made that maybe he should say this, maybe us telling him to shut up and dribble, maybe he should get to voice his opinion. What do you think . I dont think, im sorry. If youre not a football fan, you should understand. You try to kick a ball 50 yards. I may not be able to but ive Got Superstar FemaleSoccer Players who can. Thats a time, but for the moment, i get the excitement. My problem was the pew or pasteurization of Catholic Doctrine which was so off the rails. It is evidence of fractures in the Catholic Church between very hardline tradition. As an augustan seminarian, im great regard for the mass, i understand the 21st century. This is the pope for all of us. Doesnt this give a speech to catholics who have a Branding Issue . Its so much more of a thoughtful analysis then this speech merits, its amazing. Monday, he is showing up with a red tie. My second point is, and this is where i think that societally, we sort and we have sort of gone off the rails. This was given at a private catholic college, not the general public consumption. Media has pushed it out, but this was different from Colin Kaepernick for that reason. He made his protest on the job, at work. At a game. This was in a private setting at a Catholic University to a speech to a group of catholics. He got a standing ovation. That notwithstanding, the context in which the speech is given and the protest is made matters and it matters to the nfl which is why they can take the position they are taking. Its not like oh, we dont agree, they are distancing because this doesnt come in their bounds, it doesnt touch their purview. This was public not a public, this was a private setting. Now it is public, and we are all digesting publicly, but he had an opportunity to share his views to an audience that well received it, and its no different than when, you know, you would go and give a speech at a private institution and share your views that you would otherwise not share on your job. I cant do that because i stay in my house and cook and clean. Is the most important thing a woman can do. And you put the flag upside down. Whats your take . We get to judge it. If someone hadnt shared the video. I understand. I had no problem with Colin Kaepernick doing what he did. I think some of the reactions are not in the right context of how he gave the situation. He isnt speaking for the nfl. I dont care if he was in the privacy of his own home and wrote a tract that said what he is saying because its gross. These are his views. Someone else whose views were out for the whole world to me, a bunch of comedians, ripping apart tom brady. Tom brady participated in and was subject of an Executive Producer of a roast where a group of comedians let him up, set him on fire and at that time, he seemed to like it. He has now said he deeply regrets it, because it was terrible and hurtful to his children. Do you know what a roast is . Its me on a rotisserie. Did you not know that . Those comedians one after his family. He didnt go to bed comedian and complain. The only time he did was when they went after the owner of the patriots. What is your take . Everyone is playing their part in this drama. Netflix wanted a live roast and they got tom brady to do it and he knows what a roast is and the comedians came and they came. They did their job, and now everyone will watch the next live roast on netflix if they can book someone and then of course hes going to say he regret it because giselle got mad at him as she should and its a natural cycle of entertainment. Cause and effect. Deeply jaded and accurate. Jason kelce had to say that on his podcast. I dont get why people do that. Yeah, my family is ruined, it is so funny. My family is ruined, it is so funny. What do you think . I love a roast. They are some of the best ways in which you get to have the ability to check your own self because in that moment, you are now the subject of everybodys ire and derision and hopefully, in a comedic funny way. But its not just you, all the people in your world, your spouse, your children. Its one thing if your public person, you cant help that people will talk about you but when you choose to participate in something that could then humiliate you and your children, thats different. If you are going after the children and the spouse specifically, typically if you are executive producing your own show . You can come after me all day long. We are not playing that because i have to go home. The only issue. You get to bob kraft and that is why giselle got mad. They called me all this stuff, and you stopped the show because they were supposed to Say Something about bob kraft . Its the way it is and there you are. Everyone is staying but when we return, we are back with the mvps of the week. Who had the biggest week . Dont miss this. Ah, these bills are crazy. She has no idea shes sitting on a goldmine. Well she doesnt know that if she owns a Life Insurance policy of 100,000 or more she can sell all or part of it to coventry for cash. Even a term policy. Even a term policy . Even a term policy find out if youre sitting on a goldmine. Call Coventry Direct today at the number on your screen, or visit coventrydirect. Com. Scout is protected by Simparica Trio and hes in it to win it Simparica Trio is the first chew with triple protection. Whoa fleas and ticks Intestinal Worms whoa Heartworm Disease no problem with Simparica Trio this drug class has been associated with neurologic Adverse Reactions including seizures. Use with caution in dogs with a history of these disorders. For winning protection go with Simparica Trio. Thank you for watching. Ari melber is up next. Also this weekend catch the turning point. This weekend is all about the battleground state of georgia. Tune in at 9 00 pm eastern right here on msnbc. On that note, i wish you a very good night from all of our colleagues across the networks of nbc news, thanks for staying up late. I will see you at the end of monday. Just walked in like you normally would