it as appropriate to break the law. we swore allegiance to the constitution. >> let's bring in roberta costa, national political reporter for the "washington post" and msnbc political analyst. robert, thanks for being with us this morning. i want to start with the "post" report. basically saying the president wants to complete hundreds of miles of border wall. and he doesn't mind what it takes in order to get that done, as long as he is able to fast track it. what do you make of that reporting and subsequently of the chief of staff for the vice president denying it? >> president trump, stymied by congress, continues to look to executive authority as a way to make an overture to his political base ahead of the 2020 election. the border wall was one of his signature pledges, and he wants to follow through as much as possible. for internal discussions as the "post" reports, he's talking through about how to pursue that objective as quickly as possible ahead of his re-election.