Willie, when he saw the long winter, he saw a winter bleak and dark, yet we know that winter is just another step in the cycle of life. And watching these people, the great people of this town, i couldnt imagine a better fate than a long and lustrous winter. Willie, i know you feel the same. Powerful words to open the program this morning. Yeah. Lifted straight from bill murray. Looks like an intense concert for 6 00 a. M. Is that smashmouth getting after it . What is that . Is this the movie . No. This is a live picture from punxsuitawney, mika. I dont know if it sees the shadow if it is more spring or less spring. I did research this morning, and it only made it worse. I dont understand. If its clear, he sees the shadow and goes back to the den for six more why would you go to the den . Its a beautiful day. Start spring early. Its the opposite. Im more confused than ever. Its a great movie. Lets listen for a second at the punxsutawney trio. Gobblers knob. The gobblers knob trio. Thats what im talking about. Wow. That is what i am that is what im talk about. Willie, didnt one of these things die a couple days ago . Joe did you hear that story . I think so. In jersey . Jonathan lemire is at our Groundhog Desk with an update for us. What happened . Jonathan . I have a bit of an expertise in this, since i did cover when Bill De Blasio dropped the groundhog and murdered him a few years ago. I was at city hall at the time. I can speak about this, yes. It was a groundhog who died in new jersey. Not this one, not punxsutawney phil. This is normally their biggest day of the year, whether they see their shadow or not. And groundhog day, the movie, top ten of all time. Here were seeing footage from a few years ago of the mayor. There is the groundhog. There goes the groundhog. Oh, my gosh. To wrap this up, the lead im most proud of in my entire journalist career came from this story. I said the lead was, the shadow was one of the last things he saw. Oh oh, no. Did that groundhog die . Yeah. Yes. Few days later. He killed it . Let me ask you, did de blasio plea out . This was before criminal Justice Reform. Did he plea out . He killed it they knocked it down to manslaughter. Rodent slaughter, really. Groundhog dropped by de blasio dies. Oh, my god. Thats a headline. It was terrible. One of his defining moments of his legacy, frankly. One of the reasons why he opted not to run for governor this year, is he knew he couldnt get the groundhog constituency. I mean, seriously. Look at these folks in punxsutawney, theyre still singing. Oh, my god, is that a groundhog . Willie . Is that a furry were going to be there next year. Dancing mika is is that a furry groundhog . Dont go there, mika. You didnt handle that last time so well. Oh, my god. Lets pull back here. Oh, heres bloomberg. Come on. This is when mayor bloomberg was bitten by a groundhog. You can see it there. He recoils in pain. Again, when you come near city hall, you have to learn things about groundhogs and mayors. This is another famous mishap. This mayor is bitten by the groundhog on staten island. Right there, he should have taken a message. Yeah. Lets stop. From gobblers knob to the rest of the world, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to morning joe. With us today and talking about groundhog day, we have wow. Well, i think one of the foremost experts on the east coast on the topic, professor at princeton university, eddie glaude jr. Also, msnbc contributor and best seller author of the Confidence Code series, katty kay. Mika, we talked enough about groundhogs. Whats in the news . Lets get to the headlines this morning. Yesterday, we told you of the new reporting on how personally involved donald trump was in trying to use federal agencies to seize Voting Machines in key swing states in the weeks after losing the 2020 election. This morning, the New York Times reports the January 6th Committee is now investigating trumps role in trying to seize Voting Machines. Thats according to three people with knowledge of the committees activities. The times says it is unclear what evidence lawmakers are examining. Likely in the mix is the draft Executive Order that circulated among the former president s attorneys that would have authorized the pentagon to seize Voting Machines in key swing states. But trump has his own idea for the investigation. He says congress should investigate mike pence. In a new Statement Released yesterday, the former president said congressional investigators should look into, quote, why mike pence did not send back the votes for recertification or approval. The statement appears to be an attempt to clean up or add nuance to his statement from sunday night, that pence, quote, could have overturned the election. Senate Minority Leader Mitch Mcconnell responded yesterday to trumps comments from his Weekend Rally in texas, that he might pardon january 6th rioters if he is reelected. Take a listen to that. What we saw here on January The 6th was an effort to prevent the peaceful transfer of power from one administration to another. 165 have pleaded guilty to criminal behavior. My view is, i would not be in favor of shortening any of the sentences for any of the people who pleaded guilty to crimes. There we have, again, willie, we have Mitch Mcconnell speaking straight out on January The 6th. Its the one thing, again, that, time and again, mitch has been unambiguous about. That is that people that committed crimes on January The 6th should be published. That January The 6th was an atrocity. And whatever donald trump is saying about january 6th is not true. Again, he wants to empower the january 6th commission which, of course, he was against, bipartisan commission, which was a mistake. Manchin thinks it was a mistake. A lot of people do. But hes certainly gotten behind this one. He wants i think he wants the dirty truth told about donald trump because i think he wants trump out of the party as much as, well, a lot of people. As much as liz cheney or some others. Yeah. It is unclear if hell accomplish that goal, but the truth will be told. It is being accumulated and assembled right now by the january 6th select Committee Thanks to this wealth of evidence they have about President Trump, including him on tape asking a sitting Secretary Of State in georgia to find the votes to flip that election to him. Eddie, it says so much about where we are, that it is considered extraordinary that Mitch Mcconnell would come out and say, no, you shouldnt pardon criminals involved in january 6th. Seems like an obvious truth, but it is something that needs to be said out loud right now. Its the state of things. One thing that has been revealed over and over again is the scale of what was possible. That we were on the precipice of what donald trump was trying to do. Mika used the language that he was trying to nuance his statement. I mean, nuance and donald trump is like oil and water. We know exactly what he was trying to do, and that is becoming ever more clear to us. So it makes sense that, you know, Mitch Mcconnell and Lindsey Graham would say the obvious. Its a little too late, it seems to me. Trump, meanwhile, wasnt happy with republican senator Lindsey Graham, who criticized trump for those comments about possible pardons. Heres a reminder of what senator graham said on sunday, followed by trumps new comments in an interview with news max. I think it is inappropriate. I dont want to reinforce that defiling the capitol was okay. I dont want to do anything that would make this more likely in the future. I want to deter people who did what they did on january 6th. Those who did it, i hope they go to jail and get the book thrown at them because they deserve it. Lindsey graham is wrong. I mean, lindsey is a nice guy, but lindsey is wrong. These people are being treated horribly. Some are treated unfairly. Yeah, i would absolutely give them a pardon. Some of these people are not guilty. Many of these people are not guilty. What theyve done to these, and in many cases, patriots, theyre soldiers, theyre policemen, what theyve done to them compared to what theyve done to the other side you know, you have to have equal justice, and this is not equal. No. I would absolutely be prepared. Lindsey graham doesnt know what the hell hes talking about if he says that. Because you have to have equal justice. It is very, very unfair, whats happened to this group of people. Talking about a false equivalency. Wow. Yeah, there were soldiers and cops there. Soldiers and cops there who had planned to commit sedition against the United States of america and are going to go to jail for a very long time because you dont try to overturn the United States government or get in the way of peaceful transition. It is interesting, though. Mitch mcconnell, i must state this again, Mitch Mcconnell since january 6th has been very consistent. Very consistent. Whats interesting is other republicans are starting to speak out, like mitch did, against what happened on january 6th. Lindsey graham, who is on the trump train, off the trump train, on the trump train, and now hes off the trump train. What he said. The most extreme example, josh hollie. A guy who was responsible for this insurrection, along with donald trump, said if somebody committed a crime on january 6th at the capitol, they should face the consequences. You know, there is an old bill clinton saying. If a turtle sitting up on a fence post, it didnt get there by accident. I dont think its an accident that all these republicans understand that tis the season to start condemning people that spread crap on the walls of the United States capitol, that broke windows, shattered windows, took american flags and bashed the brains out of cops, so hard that they thought they were going to die, that jammed cops heads inside doors, trying to cause dire, you know, harm to them. I mean, jonathan lemire, there was a silence among republicas. Now, were starting to hear republicans say these people should face consequences. Suddenly, theyre not tour tour and january 6th wasnt just another day. I think theyre seeing it in polls. Americans, the more they find out about the planning to commit sedition against this madisonian democracy, the angrier even the Republican Base is getting. Yeah. The return of january 6th to the headlines here after the oneyear anniversary and now the select committee is taking a more public approach to what their work is, its had a bit of an impact here. Certainly, the former president s words, more than any other. Were seeing this as an issue where some republicans are willing to break with him. Certainly, you wouldnt find two or more republicans more loyal to trump than josh hawley. He was the first senator to announce hed object to certifying the win for joe biden. We remember him walking into the capitol that day with his fist raised to the crowd. Even he is saying the idea of pardons for the rioters there he is is, you know, a bridge too far. He wouldnt go for that. Wee several times, he wouldnt do that, as well. Mcconnell is interesting. Youre right. Put an asterisk on what you said. Mcconnell still said if trump were the nominee in 2024, hed still support him. Beyond that, hes created a lot of daylight between himself and the former president. He clearly doesnt want trump to be the nominee in 2024 and thinks the party would be better off in another direction. What well need to see, and this will be a question of time, week, months ahead, whether republicans are willing to separate themselves from trump on any other issue, or whether its the most extreme aspects of january 6th. Is this the one thing they feel they cant go along, or if the polls continue this way, do they start to break themselves further from him . Still ahead on morning joe, the standoff between moscow and the west shows no signs of easing. What russian president Vladimir Putin is now saying about the escalating tensions over ukraine. Well talk to katty about that. Plus, the nfl is facing a new bombshell lawsuit. Accusing the league of racist hiring practices. Well talk about the significance of this new legal fight. And the private Text Messages from Bill Belichick at the center of the lawsuit. Also, a stunning new look at the toll the coronavirus pandemic in the United States. Covid is killing americans at a far higher rate than people in other wealthy nations. Were going to break down the data. Youre watching morning joe. Well be right back. Were also going to talk about whoopi. Parts of that story i just dont get. Well talk about that in a little bit. Well be right back. Little bit little bit well be right back we handle your insurance. All you have to do is schedule delivery. Go to capsule. Com to get started in 15 seconds today. I see trees of green red roses too i see them bloom for me and you music so i think to myself oh what a Wonderful World making your way in The World Today takes everything youve got taking a break from all your worries sure would help a lot wouldnt you like to get away . 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Its to create in utopia that everybody is equal in the nfl and everybody is getting the opportunity. Dont act shocked about flores filing the lawsuit. Dont be shocked when the details come out. Dont be shocked. Weve been talking about this. We need to stop couching it as the nfl. We need to stop saying league office. We need to start saying, owners. The nfl owners are the ones that determine who will be the head coaches for their Football Teams. They have no incentive to hire black coaches. Former nfl Defensive End and espn football commentator marcus spears, insisting League Owners are responsible for the alleged discriminatory practices in football. Thats in reference to the lawsuit filed yesterday by former Miami Dolphins coach brian flores, alleging Racial Discrimination against the nfl and three of its teams, the dolphins, the giants, and the broncos. The 58page suit filed in Manhattan Federal Court yesterday seeks Class Action Status and comes after the 40yearold was fired by miami last month. In the suit, flores alleges he was treated with disdain and cast as The Angry Black Man by the dolphins after he refused to accept a 100,000 a game offer from his team in his first season to tank so it could secure a top draft pick. An explosive allegation. And after hed not bend against pressure to recruit a prominent quarterback in violation of the leagues tampering rules. Flores led miami to a 2425 record. The team finished 98 in the second straight winning season but failed to make the playoffs during his tenure. The dolphins denied Racial Discrimination. Flores alleges the giants interviewed him last month for their head coaching vacancy. For no other reason than compliance with the nfls rule requiring teams to interview minority candidates. This came to light, in part, due to texts from new england head coach Bill Belichick, in which he mistakenly congratulated flores for getting the giants job. Giants responded in a statement, writing in part, the fact of the matter is brian flores was in the conversation to be our head coach until the 11th hour. Ultimately, we hired the individual we felt was most qualified to be our next head coach. The lawsuit alleges flores was forced to undergo a Sham Interview with the broncos, which the team dismissed as false. In a statement, the league said itd defend against these claims which are without merit. Eddie, lets get the Football Stuff out of the way. Brian flores three years ago inherits the worst team in the nfl. Right. Theyre a garbage roster. Terrible. Could have gone 016. Last year, winning record. This year, they win 8 of 9, on the doorstep of the majors. They dont get in. Hes shown progress in his job in miami. We should point out, there now is one black head coach in the nfl, and thats mike tomlin, who is an institution and legend in pittsburgh. But thats it. In 2022, one black head coach. 70 of the league black players. Lets be clear here, i remember the days when we were excited about Doug Williams taking the washington then the Washington Redskins to the super bowl. I remember the days when Jimmy The Greek On Monday Night Football made that racist comment. I remember the days when there was talk, when Doug Williams became the quarterback of the Washington Redskins, what does this mean . It is historic. They can lead. All the underlying assumptions about the mental state of black players and black athletes. Its still operative in the league today. So this, to me, is a historic moment. It is courageous on the part of coach flores, to step out and call to the floor what has been obvious, obvious in the nfl. Behind that shield is ugliness, and he is making it clear to me, or making it clear to us, it seems to me. Yeah. Jonathan lemire, im so glad eddie brought up Doug Williams. I remember, like a lot of people, being really excited when Doug Williams finally won the super bowl. When a black quarterback finally won the super bowl. He was, you know, the first really to be given the chance. That was a big thing even in what was that i think january of 89, maybe. Might have been 88 but yeah. 88 season, yes. January of 89. Thank you. January of 88. Anyway, that seemed to be such a big deal. Within five, ten years, it really wasnt a big deal. Suddenly, people realized, oh wait, we can recruit black quarterbacks and they can lead our teams. We dont think much about it now, but coaching in 2022, the fact that there is one black coach in the nfl is so outrageous. One head coach. I just willie brought up a good point. Flores won 8 out of 9 games. The most important part of that is he won 8 out of the last 9 games he coached. I dont know about a month left of the season, jack scarborough, who i bring up a lot, but we watch football together, he goes, man, the dolphins are really coming on strong. He said, we need to go down and see some dolphin games. This is a team on fire. He wins 8 out of 9. He beats the patriots in thefin him . Im sorry, im just going to say it. No white coach winning 8 out of his last 9 games and beat belichick the final game of the season, no white coach would have been fired in that situation. Not one. Yeah. And to underscore just how noteworthy the comments were, the final game of the season, at that point the dolphins won a bunch of games in a row and had been eliminated. But the patriots had a chance to win the division. The dolphins beat them anyway. Flores was a star on belichicks staff as a defensive coordinator. He was seen as a rising star in the head coaching ranks, as well. When this offseason started and the dolphins surprisingly fired him, now were learning more about the circumstances there, but there was a belief that he was going to be a hot property. Hed get snapped right up by some other team. Personally, i was hoping hed return to the patriots as coordinator and be belichicks heir apparent. He is that good. It is striking that he hasnt gotten a job. These allegations are damning. And the idea of the nfl having, you know contrast to the nba, another league where majority of players are africanamerican, that has much better representation in terms of black head coaches. The nfl down to one. This, in part, comes to light because of the aforementioned Bill Belichick sending a text message, a series of texts to flores, congratulating him for getting the giants job. Turned out, he got, apparently, his names mixed up in the address book. Meant to send it to the Buffalo Bills assistant coach, who would eventually get the giants job. Flores hadnt even had an interview with the giants yet at that post at that time, meaning the job had already been awarded to someone else. Flores says his interview a sham. Thats the heart of this case. Boy, ill tell ya what, willie, the race part is obviously at the center of this lawsuit. I will tell you what can cause real problems for the dolphins is if evidence does come out that their owner was telling the coach, throw the games. I will pay you 100,000 for every game that you throw. Every game that we lose. Thats enough to get an owner stripped of his Football Team if thats proven. You cant i mean, thats so much worse than anything pete rose ever did. Yup. If an owner is paying a head coach to throw football games, that owner cant continue to have a team in the nfl. Yeah. Thats become the sub headline in the story. Because the headline is so important. But, if thats true, and im sure the nfl this morning is looking into the allegation, of whether an owner offered 100,000 a game to throw games, lose games to get a higher draft pick, yeah, thatd be terrible. Id also point out david culley, a black coach, was given one season with the houston texans. He was fired after this year. They had a tough season, but he only got one year. Didnt get a chance to turn it around. Lets bring Danny Cevallos into the conversation. And charles, a legal analyst. Youve looked at the lawsuit. What jumps out at you . Willie, first of all, i think it is both equal parts ironic and poetic that brian flores engaged in this explosive lawsuit at the time he has, to kick off black history month, of all places. Make no mistake about it, this is a civil rights question. What brian flores is saying is because of his race, he was denied an equal opportunity to actually compete for this job. Hes also alleging that other similarly situated people, meaning other black qualified coaches have been denied the same opportunities with respect to being able to achieve Head Coaching Positions in the nfl. Joe hit the nail on the head in terms of where the concern lies beyond the civil rights implications this has for flores, from a competitive and fairness standpoint. The nfl needs to be extremely concerned about where this lawsuit can go. Ultimately, if you are providing a live Sports Product for the public, for your audience, for your patrons, and you cant ensure that this is truly competitive and truly fair, it damages your brand beyond repair. So even with respect to the employment claims, which i think are voiced out strongly in the pleadings, there is reputational damage the nfl needs to be prepared about with respect to this lawsuit. Danny, all three teams named in this lawsuit deny the allegations. Nfl says the claims are without merit. What jumped out at you as you looked at this in terms of class action . Who else could be involved . One statistic that, if true, is very sobering. Its that at least allegedly, when the rooney rule was instituted, the rule that requires an interview of at least one black candidate for any open head coaching job, there were, i believe, three black head coaches at that time. Now today, there is one. So the complaint alleges weve gone backward. If thats true, then it seems that we have, at least the nfl has gone backward. The rooney rule may not have worked the way it was intended to work. But, as you asked in your question, this is a class action. So there is an additional obstacle. Class actions are such devastating Offensive Weapons for plaintiffs attorneys, that a court needs to certify it as a class. Brian flores sued on behalf of everyone similarly situated. Now, he has to show he is an adequate representative of that class and that the claims are common enough that him representing the class will be fair to others in that class. This is not going to be a class of millions or even thousands. Similarly situated coaches to brian flores is probably a much smaller group, but nonetheless, a group that would have significant power as a Group Plaintiff and would get into significant discovery, far more than if brian flores brought this complaint by himself as an individual. By bringing it as a class, you see from the allegations in the complaint, they go way beyond brian flores. They go to an alleged history of discrimination in the nfl. And they may be able to get discovery on all of that. This is eddie glaude. Good morning. I want to go back to this point about the hit to the brand of the nfl. How do you see the relationship between this Class Action Lawsuit and the nfls response to Colin Kaepernick, for example . There is a thread that one could draw from kaepernick to what flores is alleging at this point. So how do you think about those two things together at once in this moment . Eddie, i think thats a great question. I think when you think about what the nfl has done in terms of trying to show face in the area of Social Justice and the area of centering community, they have their inspire change platform. They have the agreement they got into with respect to the owners and players. But any of those things, all of those things, they never actually took root with an audience that was offended by the way Colin Kaepernick was shut out by the league. Even after kaepernick had the settlement with the league, there was still a number of people who saw those efforts by the league as window dressing. So when you have this to come on the back end of that, it only affirms the distrust that the public already had around the nfls sincerity with respect to dealing with issues of race and racism within its ranks. And so this is not a thing where people are looking at these both as isolated incidents. There is a connection people are drawing, and it has everything to do with the nfls credibility, which is why they need to address it and address it quickly. Charles coleman and Danny Cevallos, thank you both for coming on this morning. Coming up, senator joe manchin is doubling down on the death of build back better. His latest take on what democrats should do instead. And Whoopi Goldberg is off the view for the next two weeks after comments about the holocaust. Were going to take a look at that ahead on morning joe. That ahead on morning joe. Cle. The face of whoa some are of intensity, others joy. All are of. Various ahhh. Listerine. Feel the whoa theres a different way to treat hiv. 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The view cohost Whoopi Goldberg has been suspended over her comments about the holocaust. Goldberg made the comments on Monday Morning while the panel was discussing a Tennessee School boards banning of mouse, a novel about nazi death champs. Here are those comments followed by her apology the next day. Lets be truthful about it. Because the holocaust isnt about race. Its not about race. Its not about race. What is it about . Because its about mans inhumanity to man. I said something that i feel a responsibility for not leaving unexamined. My words upset so many people, which was never my intention. It is about race. Hitler and the nazis considered the jews to be an Inferior Race. I regret my comments, as i said, and i stand corrected. In addition to the apology, the Program Brought on Antidefamation League ceo to discuss the remarks. He tweeted, thank you to Whoopi Goldberg for inviting me on, to educate about the holocaust. Whoopi has been a longtime ally of the Jewish Community and the adl, and her apology is very much welcome. Thats something we need to talk about. This acceptance of her apology, which is really important. Yesterday, though, the network suspended Whoopi Goldberg for two weeks. In a statement, abc news president kim godwin, wrote effective immediately, i am suspending Whoopi Goldberg for her wrong and hurtful comments. I asked her to reflect and learn about the impact of her comments. The entire organization stands in solidarity with our jewish colleagues, friends, and communities. Help me understand this, eddie. We talk about cancel culture all the time. Whoopi hasnt been canceled, but shes been suspended. Whoopi goldberg makes an offensive statement. Whoopi goldberg apologizes for that offensive statement. Whoopi goldberg apologizes for anyone who was harmed or hurt by that offensive statement. Whoopi goldberg gets ahead of the adl to talk about the topic and shed more light about the topic. And on her mistake. The head of the adl apology appreciates it. Accepts the apology, appreciates it, and says shes been a longterm ally of the Jewish Community. So what am i missing here . By the way, i was yes, when i heard the statestatement, i was like, what is she talking about . She made a terrible mistake. We all make terrible mistakes. We apologized immediately and took corrective actions. Who is so frail over at abc . Who was so frail out there that they cant understand when somebody makes a mistake, apologizes for the mistake, and takes all the corrective actions that can be taken for that mistake, and theyre still suspended for two weeks . Joe, like you, im a bit baffled. I mean, i take it there might be some pressure behind the scenes from folks demanding more concrete consequences for what Whoopi Goldberg said. But i think its important for us to understand the nature of her confusion. There is this sense we want to think of racism as an Act Of Discrimination Directed by someone, white people against other people, or an act of discrimination. Oftentimes, we lose sight of racism as, in some ways, a reflection of White Supremacy and how nazism reflected that ideology. But the confusion happens, and James Baldwin wrote about this, negros arent antisemetic, that i antiwhite, in a sense, how it can morph into whiteness and it becomes difficult to distinguish. It is a very, very difficult argument to make. Whoopi goldberg fell into the minefill and eddie, if youre a jew, it is not hard to distinguish between being a jew your people have been treated by garbage for years. Even in the magna carta, which we wasps all praise and professors have praised for, you know, hundreds of years as a great liberating document, you know, it basically said people in england have all these rights, except for jews. Right to property, except for jews. Absolutely. Antisemitism has raised in europe for centuries. Antisemitism rages on campuses in this country. If youre a jew at a campus at elite colleges, at usc, you were treated differently sometimes. Everywhere you go. And, by the way, how many people alive today survived the holocaust, have parents or grandparents that survived the holocaust . No, no, im sorry. Its not hard to figure out. Oh, no, no, no. If youre a jew, the difference between you and a white person. I would suggest that anybody that is trying to draw a difference between jews and wasps, they just back up and say, yeah, the jews have actually been persecuted for 3,000 years. Why dont we look at them as a separate case, a separate situation. Joe we have to be careful. We do have to be careful. Lets be very clear, that White Supremacy takes structure from antisemitism. Lets be very, very clear, right . White supremacy takes its structure from antisemitism, which is much older. Remember, that was something Whoopi Goldberg said. What is this, white attacking white people . This is how she said it. There was a line that came out in the discussion. So part of what im saying here is that there is a way in the context of american racial hierarchy, oftentimes in the interaction between communities, there is a whiteness attributed to the Jewish Population that can be m trying to say, im no doing well accounting for it, but i think she stumbled as i might be this morning, too. Because it is difficult to do because, you know, katty kay, you know, there were Swastikas Spray painted at Union Station at washington, d. C. This weekend. There werent union jacks. There werent flags from scotland, ireland, whatever my heritage is, england. No. There is an extraordinarily distinct culture and, again, jews are looked at as an Inferior Race by antisemites. So, yeah, again, my first point was whoopi apologized, and we should go with that. The second point, people shouldnt go down the trail Whoopi Goldberg went down, because it ends up in 3,000 years of jewish persecution. Yeah. Some of the consent about whoopis apology is when she went on Stephen Colbert and said they seemed to have a problem with race, almost doubling down. It may be why she is suspended two weeks. Im not sure. Youre right. What was the image that really struck you from charlottesville, when they were walking down with the tiki torches through the town, the White Supremacists . It was the number of swastikas. The taunts of wanting to get rid of jews in america. It is powerful. We live in a world where it is hard to have nuanced discussions. What eddie was saying, it is very important. Because of this countrys unique history, racial issues tend to be automatically defined as black and white. I think thats what the argument whoopi was getting into and was ignoring, that there is a very important racial issue that came out of europe and centuries of persecution, as the nazis defined it, seeing the jews at a different race. It is not necessarily just about black and white. Well, nuanced discussions are really important to have, and some of the best nuanced discussions come out of mistakes like this. There is so much learning that could have had. Two things come to mind as ive been watching this unfold over the past 48 hours. First of all, the education that could be had out of this. The conversations that have been good. The forgiveness has been important. The learning that has come out of the forgiveness and the learning moments has been valuable to the audience of the view. Whoopi goldberg, everyone knows Whoopi Goldberg. Shes been on tv for decades. Shes been putting herself out there for decades. If you dont know her heart, then you havent been watching. And so thats why the twoweek sus suspension, to me, seems more about something else, and something that maybe we need to start putting behind us. Which is this unbelievable need to punish and judge people. And cancel people. When theyve made a mistake or when theyve learned something out in the open with the public watching. It is hard for some people to evolve or to make a mistake in front of a national audience. Everyone on this show, or at least ill speak for myself, its happened. Its very hard. Its horrifying. Its chilling. Its gutwrenching. You hate when youve said something thats hurt people. Right. It is the worst thing that can happen in a career. And so i really feel like, especially at the view, based on debates, based on arguments, based on making moments, and theyre pushed to do that. And i hope there is learning for everybody on the show in terms of grace. In terms of forgiveness. In terms of more of a space of kindness. I know that may not make as many ratings, but, you know, this is something that is just going to, like, start getting ridiculous. I mean, if Whoopi Goldberg is canceled, that would be that would be the end, i mean, of this all. This cancel culture is getting so out of hand. There are so many positives, joe, that could happen out of this mistake. Right. Instead, i feel like its headed in the wrong direction. Yeah. I mean, as you said, we all and it was a mistake. Dont get me wrong. When youre on live television, you say stupid things. Everybody says stupid things. There have been times where, you know, ive said some really stupid things. Willie has walked out on the tree branch and put his arm around me and said, come on back, big fella. Why dont we go back and hug the tree. Im going to take you down. Ill climb you down the tree, and i sit there. You could see it in whoopis face. She was in the middle of something. You could see it almost immediately. Begin, sort of like you can see mika when i start to say things. She has that look on her face like shes scared for me. Then willie takes me home safely. Give me the car keys, son. And we all lived happily ever after, until the next segment. Inflation is likely to decline, but what about the anger it generated among consumers . Vladimir putin wanted nato troops far from russias border, but it looks like his actions dealing with ukraine are bringing more next door. Where things stand right now. And crime in New York City is up substantially compared to this time last year. Good lord. We dive into the numbers and what could be driving the dangerous rise in violence. Next on morning joe. On morn trelegy for copd. Birds flyin high you know how i feel coughing breeze driftin on by you know how i feel copd may have gotten you here, but you decide whats next. Start a new day with trelegy. Feelin good no oncedaily Copd Medicine has the power to treat copd in as many ways as trelegy. 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Especially during the coronavirus pandemic. Not good. Were going to dig into the new numbers on that. This is an issue of the generation. Yeah, really is. Plus, well be joined by senator and Foreign Relations Committee Member chris murphy, as lawmakers close in on a deal to sanction russia amid ramped up tensions over ukraine. And candidate for georgia governor, Stacey Abrams will be our guest at 8 00 a. M. Morning joe is coming right back. Morning joe is coming right back is now a good time for a flareup . Enough, crohns for adults with moderate to severe crohns or ulcerative colitis, stelara® can provide relief, and is the first approved medication to reduce inflammation on and below the surface of the intestine in uc. You, getting on that flight . Back off, uc stelara® may increase your risk of infections, some serious, and cancer. Before treatment, get tested for tb. 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Get your prescriptions filled and delivered today for free. Go to capsule. Com and get started in 15 seconds. music i think to myself what a Wonderful World it is the top of the hour. A live look at times square this morning. A little more busy than it used to be, as were coming out of this pandemic, hopefully. Welcome back to morning joe. It is wednesday, february 2nd. Jonathan lemire, eddie glaude, and katty kay are still with us. Were going to get to this headline now, which is so troubling. Two Campus Police officers were shot and killed at Bridgewater College in virginia yesterday. Authorities say officer john painter and j. J. Jefferson were responding to a report of a suspicious man near one of the campus buildings. Virginia state police say the officer briefly spoke with the man before he opened fire on them and ran off. Students and staff were on lockdown for more than three hours. After a massive search effort, the suspect, a 27yearold male, was found and taken into custody. Accused of two counts of capital murder, first degree murder, and using a firearm in commission of a felony. A suspected motive wasnt clear. Horrific. The second new York City Police officer to die in a shooting last month in harlem will be laid to rest. The funeral for wilbert mora will be at 10 00 a. M. At st. Patricks cathedral. The same place where his partner, riveras, funeral was held last week. Mourners gathered to take part in services for rivera last friday. Both officers were shot and killed while responding to a Domestic Violence call. 27yearold mora was kept on life support for a few days so his organs could be donated to those needing lifesaving transplants. Ultimately, moras organs saved five peoples lives. The suspected gunman died from his injuries last week after being shot by a third Police Officer at the scene. It comes as President Biden is expected to tour the nypds headquarters in Lower Manhattan tomorrow to meet with mayor eric adams to discuss a comprehensive strategy to combat gun crime. In the month of january, New York City has seen a 38 increase in all crime compared to the same period last year, according to the nypd. But potentially more concerning, the uptick does not seem to be just a product of the pandemic. After historic drop in crime in 2018 and 2019, the nypd says there is now more crime in New York City than there was 12 years ago for all crime categories. Joining us now, nbc news investigations reporter tom winter. Tom, whats behind these numbers . Do we know . Well, i think its a couple of Different Things. As we go down each one of those categories you just listed and that we looked at, we could spend in congratulations of the show going to four hours, we could talk about all the various factors that could go into play. It is a complicated issue. It is a nuanced issue. I think a couple of things to keep in mind. One, the relationship in some boroughs of New York City and in somewan counties between the poe and district is as bad as ive seen it since ive been covering this a decade ago. Its an issue of concern, when you dont have cases that are necessarily being prosecuted. You have Police Officers who are trying to figure out the new rules of the road. You have prosecutors that are elected on mandates that they believe they have a necessary path to go forward, as to what crimes need to be prioritized, focused on, and what crimes dont need to be. Even though all these particular crimes may remain on the books. So thats a potential concern. I think a couple of Different Things that ive looked at that are potentially quite concerning and tragic. When you look at the gun violence occurring, not just in New York City where shooting victim incidents are up 14. 3 , looking at that over the last 12 years, so thats a pretty big increase over a period of time where crime really started to go down. Welcome at philadelphia last year. 563 homicides. Over 80 of those involved black victims. A third of those involved black victims ages 24 or younger. So what youre seeing in some of these cities is a tremendous amount of loss of life that is Impacting Keeping in mind the Criminal Justice concerns that people have. I think this is only getting more complicated, in speaking with former nypd commissioner, he said people think a new mayoral administration, new Police Leadership in New York City, new das in some boroughs, specifically in manhattan. Now things can be changed. Crime was going up. He said, i dont think you can flick a switch like you did in the days of Rudy Giuliani and bill bratton and other examples across the country. I think thats starting to bear out. Yeah. I think it is starting to bear out, too. Tom, you bring up such an important point about the das, not just in New York City but across the country. You look at philadelphia. You have people that go in that, im going to say, not you, this is me as a conservative, i believe they have a Soft On Crime approach, a Soft On Crime approach in philadelphia, where theyre basically saying everything is fine. Lets move along. There is a da who sees himself as this great progressive champion, and theyre just taking a softer on crime approach. You look at New York City. Eric adams comes in, promises to clean up the streets. He promises to get tough on crime. Hes dealing with a da that has an approach that is so radical that hes been condemned even by the governor. So you have eric adams having to deal with that da. You have eric adams having to deal with the city council that, again, my opinion, not yours, is too woke on a lot of these issues. Then you have him even dealing with a governor that isnt you know, eric adams wants to give judges the power to lock up dangerous people when theyre in front of them on bail. He asked the governor for that. The governor wont even let judges have that discretion. So it looks like eric adams efforts to get tough on crime, the new mayor is besieged from all sides. So i think when you look at that, hes trying to look at other approaches and things he can control. One of those areas is focusing on the tremendous amount of the citys youth that are not in school, that are not employed, that are out on the streets and in potential issues for, as a criminologist said to me, the funny thing about gangs, theyre always hiring. When you look at The Street Crews and the gangs that control the daytoday, streetlevel drug crime and drug trade in New York City, theyre always looking for new members. Theres always a market there. Thats, of course, an entirely different discussion about how we handle drugs in this country and the demand for drugs. But the bottom line is, theres always a market for those young individuals to be hired, to get into a life of crime. One of the things that eric adams is focused on, and the administration is focused on, particularly this summer, is coming up with a jobs program where they can focus on those individuals, to provide them meaningful employment, to get them back in the classroom, to find a way to get them off the streets before, unfortunately, it is too late for them and they end up another statistic on the page in front of me. President biden coming to town tomorrow. And ill make a note of the politics on it. Two years ago, there was talk of defunding the police among democrats. President biden visiting the headquarters of the nations Largest Police force. Shows you where thats shifted. Talk to us about, you know, we see homicides have ticked down. Crime is up in New York City. Gun violence, as well. Speak to us a little bit more specifically about what the mayor hopes to do, the new mayor eric adams, was guns and the reinstitution of the plains Clothes Police force, which raised eyebrows among some of the community. First off, they want to get to the idea of the iron pipeline, which is that between the new jersey turnpike, 95, all the various highways and byways, and weve seen trains, commercial aircraft trafficking, illegal guns stolen and bought from someone else and arrive here in New York City. They want to target that. The idea of less guns on the street. Theyll have a particular issue with that because sometimes some of the consequences for people that are found carrying those may not be the same as they were before. Weve seen instances in New York City where minors are, in fact, in possession of the weapons. Holding it for somebody of age. They believe that, you know, theyll only do maybe a year or two in a juvenile Detention Program and then theyll be out. They wont face the consequences as an adult. The Mayors Office wants to change that. They want to say to people under the age of 18 that are caught with illegal gun, you either tell us who gave it to you, or we consider going to adult and criminal court. Thats a way theyre going to try to tackle the illegal gun issue. As far as, you know, the overall issue, you know, you mention about President Biden visiting nypd headquarters and the plain clothes unit focused on guns. I think, first off, id like to know how much of the unit went away or morphed into other parts of the Police Department. I think one of the things theyll have to try to handle is, how are you going to get guns when you no longer prosecute people for jumping the turnstile on subway stations. When somebody detecting the odor of marijuana no longer makes it a feasible car stop for something to be prosecuted. Police officers say, if im going to arrest somebody, but at the end of the day they wont be prosecuted or nothing is going to happen, why do i want to be in that business . I think thats something theyre going to have to address. How do you get to the point where you develop probable cause on somebody to find they have a gun without going back to a position they were at the end of the Bloomberg Administration and the kelly administration, when he was the commissioner of the new York City Police department, where Stop And Frisk was a problem. Former commissioner bill bratton, before he took that job, talked with us at nbc news. He said, you know, he likened it to the Cancer Patient. There was these really tough on crime policies that were still being applied to New York City. Its kind of like the Cancer Patient who is recovered from cacer and theyre still going back to the doctor for chemo. Enough is enough. Itll come down to the Police Department to figure out, okay, how are we going to use these units not to go back to the days where you have to stop Somebody Just to stop somebody. Youre repeatedly stopping people in minority communities because you have to make a quote of how many people youre going to stop that day. These are challenges for them. On the other hand, if youre going to get illegal guns, youre going to have to interact with people. Some of those interactions have turned deadly, too. Nbcs tom winter, thank you is o much. Thank you, tom. Eddie glaude, lets have a discussion about policing and about crime and about victims of those crimes. You know, tom brought up an important point, and that is in philadelphia, over 500 people have been killed over the past year. I think he said 80 were young black men under the age of 24. And it is when we see these Crime Statistics go up, the Crime Statistics are going up. The people that are being impacted, disproportionately, are young black men. And people of color in communities, in some cases, that are the truly disadvantaged. So the question is, how do we give police the authority that they need . How do we allow police to move forward and find those guns . How do we do all of these things in a way that bring those numbers down and make those communities safer and more livable . Because my view as a conservative, a lot of these Progressive Das are only making the lives of young black men worse. I mean, i understand theyre trying to be progressive and theyre trying to pass, you know theyre trying to enact reforms that they believe are enlightened. At the end of the day, if crime is allowed to go up, at the end of the day, if judges dont even have the power to stop the bad guys from going back out and killing young black men or young white men or hispanic men or asian men, you know, were going to see these numbers continue to rise. Joe, two things can be true at once. We want our communities to be safe. Black folk want their communities to be safe. Poor folk want their communities to be safe. That much is true. But it feels as if this conversation is a feature of americas groundhog day. Where were talking about crime in the same way weve talked about it, that led to us locking up large percentages of our population, right . Becoming, in effect, a state. We have to police differently. Youre a conservative. I grant that. Do you know how many people are languishing in prison because of this rhetoric and because they sold weed . Now people are making millions of dollars off weed. You know how many People Associated weed with violence and what its done to communities and families who have been separated because theyve been incarcerated in places they cant get to . Part of what im saying, joe, is that we know the criminal Justice System has disproportionately impacted communities in our country, particularly out of communities of which i come. You know Criminal Justice policing in this country has revealed itself over and over again to be biased. Youre a decent dude. I know that. I called you that on national television, right . You know that. Yes, yes, i do. The question for me has always been, weve just come out of george floyd. Weve just come out of this spade of police violence. We cant even get a George Floyd Policing Act. We cant even its almost as if there is a policing industrial complex, that all you have to do is roll out the statistics and, boom, were back at tough on crime, back at locking people up, back with the logic of incarceration. We can be committed to communities being safe, but we dont have to double down on this idea of policing that has led to us locking up so many people and throwing away the key. That doesnt make any sense to me, man. Well, so what doesnt make any sense to me, also, is continuing on the path weve been going down the past two years. Crime is going up. Young black men are being disproportionately impacted and killed. Black communities are being disproportionately shattered by one shooting after another. You talk to reverend al, and he says, yes, we have to focus on what the police are doing. We also have to focus on the fact that im having to bury 2yearold little black girls. Horrible. Killed by gang shooting. Whatever we have been doing the past two years is not working. Yes, reforms needed to be put into place. I will say, you know, in 2017, 2018, 2019, crime was at historic lows. Who did that help the most . Not white people on the upper west side. That helped people of color, for the most part, that are on the front lines of these crime waves. Again, as tom said, 80 of people that have been murdered in philadelphia are young black men under the age of 24. My god, i dont even you know, im afraid to see what the numbers look like in chicago. So there has to be a balance. I understand. The way we lived pregeorge floyd, thats not sustainable. We cannot do that. But what weve been doing over the past two years is not working. When you have a governor of new york that is fighting New York Citys mayor and wont even allow a judge to say, okay. I cant give that guy bail. Ive seen that guy come before me before. He is dangerous, and he goes out on the street again, he is going to commit a crime. No, im going to make bail tougher for him. When you have das saying that, you know, entire classes of crimes arent going to even see jail time, that is an invitation to chaos. Not in times square. Not on the upper east side. But in brooklyn, in the bronx, in, you know, the very boroughs that eric adams won the democratic primary. Well, well see. I think, joe, when we think about bail reform and you and i debated this over and over again. When we talk about bail reform, i think the state of new jersey gives us an example of how to do it right. I think what we have to do is to understand the underlying issues that are driving crime, particularly resourcedeprived communities. We have to understand that there is a basic failure on the part of the social contract, on our obligation to each other, to speak to the live circumstance of folk who reach to crime as a way of making ends meet. I dont think incarceration is the answer. When we see officials trying to affect the way their communities are impacted by how theyre policed, right, this is a result of organizing. This is what makes biden so interesting. Hes going to come to city hall in new york, and he is going to stand by eric adams. But there are a whole bunch of folk who put him in office who are crying for criminal Justice Reform, who were shouting defund the police. They were activists on the ground who were demanding that we redirect those resources to speak to the live circumstances of folk who are in these resourcedeprived communities. This is going to be interesting politically, as we said. Yes. Youre talking about how we need to examine the societal factors that lead people to crime. I completely agree with you 100 . And address it. And address them, yes. Yet, tonight, chances are good a young black man is going to be shot to death in chicago. Chances are good a young black man is going to be shot to death in new york. Somewhere in New York City. Chances are very good a young black man is going to be shot in los angeles. I mean, chances are good these crime rates are going to continue to go up. So i understand, these are conversations that we have to have. These are conversations that we always say we have to have. These are conversations that, youre right, i mean, the government, i believe, i will say as a conservative, needs to do more. Needs to do more from cradletograve. Universal prek, a wonderful way to start. We need to do more. But right now, we need to stop the bleeding. We need to come together and understand, we need to build a bridge from where we are now, from what is to what ought to be, because too many people of color are being killed in this country with this massive crime wave that weve seen over the past two years. Would you agree with that . Definitely. Too many people are being killed, and we have to care about life in very clear and distinct terms, right . But how we do it matters, joe. How we address it matters. Agreed. All right. This is a great conversation. We will continue it more. Very nuanced. Found out youre a good guy, joe. Thats good to know. I know. I think youre a good guy. Im putting that on a plaque. Tshirt. Hanging it in my living room. Okay. Ill get a tshirt maybe and wear it to the beach. Thank you, guys. That was good. Im a good dude. The New York Times is illustrating americas status on the world stage when it comes to covid. Deaths in the United States per capita are the highest among other large high income countries. The u. S. Is represented by the black line on the graph. Look at u. S. Deaths during the omicron wave. They far outpace other nations. U. S. Vaccinations, meanwhile, lag behind. Are you seeing something here that perhaps makes sense . Despite beginning covid19 shots months earlier than countries like japan and australia, a smaller share of people in the u. S. Are now fully vaccinated. The same holds true for those who have been boosted against the virus. The United States has fallen even further behind in administering third doses. Joining us now, Senior Writer for the New York Times. David, i think i know the answer, but what is behind the Vaccination Rate in the u. S. Compared to other countries . Because it seems access to the vaccination was there but people didnt step up for them. Yeah, access is there. If you want a vaccine in the United States, you can get one. Signs around the country, youll see them for clinics, hospitals, all over the place. A number of things are driving it, but i think, as you just suggested, the number one thing driving it is partisanship. We now have in the United States more unvaccinated republican adults than we have boosted republican adults. Its roughly a third, a third, a third, boosted, vaccinated but not boosted, and unvaccinated among republicans. But the unvaccinated is the biggest of those three groups. The vaccines work. Theyre safe. Theyre effective. They turn this into a manageable virus. Yet, we have a huge portion of people who are not vaccinated. Many of them are older. Thats the number one thing behind it. It is not the only thing behind it. Vaccination rates also lag in the u. S. For groups of people who have not graduated from college across demographics. But the number one thing is partisanship. It is partisanship. Ill tell you what, david, it is so distressing to me. I have friends, good friends. We can talk about any topic, and, you know, people with advanced degrees, law degrees, talk any topic and, you know, have great, stimulating discussions. Then we turn to politics, we turn to vaccines, we turn to covid, and it is as if an alien came down and ate their brains out. Suddenly, its like, oh, its no worse than the flu. The vaccinations dont work. People still i mean, things that, again, these are the same people who vaccinated their children five times before they went to school. These are the same people that had to have Vaccine Passports themselves, five, six, depending on the state, before they were able to get an education in america. Now, theyre acting like this is the first time anybody has ever been vaccinated. It is really again, it is just such partisanship. And it is not it is not the teeming masses. Just the poor, illiterate teeming masses that a lot of people have characterized it as being. Its a lot of highly educated people that, for some reason, have their iqs dropping 100 points every time you bring up anything political. Joe, the crazy thing about that is you quoted two lines from your friends you talked to. Its no worse than the flu, and the vaccines dont work. The crazy and tragic thing about that is, if you get a vaccine, covid, in fact, looks a lot like the flu. But the only way to turn it into something as mild as flu, on average, and the flu can be bad, but the way you turn covid into something that basically looks like the flu rather than a societydefining virus is you get the vaccine. The problem is, if you dont get it, it doesnt look like the flu. It looks like a more severe, dangerous virus than anything weve had in our lifetimes. David, such an interesting discussion. Of course, you had some countries in Eastern Europe which were also vaccine hesitant, but theyve managed to get the rates up. Maybe theres something we can learn over here from that, too. I just want to ask about the piece youve written about, inflation in the New York Times, and the ongoing debate about how long this is going to last and what the appropriate response is from the fed. Obviously, now they signalled theyre going to raise rates. Are people satisfied with that if the fed goes ahead, raises rates, were not going to smash any kind of latent recovery were getting after covid . Is that argument done now . I dont think it is. I mean, i think theres always a risk when the fed raises rates that it could cause a recession. There is no painless way to do this. Inflation is a global phenomenon. If i couldnt look across europe, you look across countries, theres inflation in canada, but it is worse in the u. S. It seems to be worse in the u. S. For a few different reasons. We send a lot more money to people under stimulus. We sent it to people who, arguably, didnt need it, who didnt lost their jobs, stock prices were still up, home values were still up. The second thing is, there are a whole bunch of ways in which life is less normal in this country than it is in other countries. I mean, as you all know, england has moved back to much more normalcy than the United States, and other parts of europe. If you dont have normalcy, that attributes to inflation. People arent working as much. It is harder to get goods out. The fed matters, but i also think the other thing that matters for addressing inflation is starting to move back to some form of normalcy, where, you know, time square looks even more normal than it was. David, thank you so much for being with us, as always. Great to have you here. Eddie glaude, i just got a text from a friend who brought up a great point. It is a point that reveals my New York City bias. Because, of course, we only talk about east coast Baseball Teams and, too often, we only focus on crime in New York City or other major cities on the east coast. But my friend texted and said, hey, crime is up everywhere. Not just where there are Progressive Das. Not just where, you know, there are certain reforms that have gone into place, where bail reform has gone into place. Its up everywhere. That is a great point. Crime is up everywhere. Regardless of whether there are, quote, Progressive Das or whether there are conservative das. But it is a good point to make, and perhaps, perhaps i should not be so new york centric. Im following eric adams, obviously, very closely, but its a good point to make. Absolutely. Were both country boys, so thats the part we need to make. My general point still holds, even with that fact. I want to look at the statistical data. Im always interested in how we calculate these statistical upticks. But i still think even with that fact, we need to really put forward a different way of policing in this country. I honestly believe that. Yeah. Eddie, also, the other point, mika, eddie wanted to say, that still holds up, even with that fact, im a good dude. You are. Put it on a tshirt, a plaque, baby. Still ahead on morning joe, social media dominates our daily lives, and its not helping our Mental Health. Were going to talk to the president of the American Psychiatric association about troubling new research, next on morning joe. Plus, Vladimir Putin blames everyone else for whats happening at russias border with ukraine. More of his comments just ahead. Youre watching morning joe. Well be right back. Watching well be right back. Colorado devastated. As many as one thousand homes burned. Most devastating tornado in kentuckys history. Ripped through the state and seven others. 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Ask your doctor about oncemonthly cabenuva. 34 past the hour. Russian president Vladimir Putin is accusing the u. S. And its allies of ignoring moscows top security demands and deliberately trying to pull russia into an Armed Conflict over ukraine. Breaking his silence for the first time in several weeks, putin said that fundamental russian concerns were ignored, including that ukraine and other former soviet nations not join nato. Putin said it is possible to find an end to the current standoff if the interests of all parties, including russias, are taken into account. Meanwhile, putins quest to push nato troops away from his countrys border is, instead, having the opposite effect. Since putin put forth the condition last year that nato withdraw troops from Eastern Europe in order to deescalate tensions, nato has only reinforced its military might in the region. President biden says he plans to send 8,500 troops. Britain said itd double its number of ground troops. Six f15 fighter jets arrived in estonia last week. Denmark, the netherlands, and bulgaria are all sending fighter jets to the region. While spain and denmark are sending warships. It seems like a pretty clear message, joe. Its far different than 2014, when president obama and the Obama Administration wouldnt even send defensive weapons at the beginning of the crisis. Lets go from Eastern Ukraine and talk to nbc news Foreign Correspondent matt bradley. Matt, you know, its so fascinating. Again, the west is responding far more forcefully than they did in 2014, where, you know, putin was almost given a green light to go into crimea. But yesterday, it did appear that a lot of people focused on the negative headlines, but it did appear Vladimir Putin was looking for an offramp from the west to get out of the crisis. Im curious, after putin spoke with all of the troops that are being sent east, whats the mood amongst ukrainian soldiers . Reporter well, we are in a village near the border. We didnt speak with ukrainian soldiers after putin spoke, but we had some interesting conversations with them beforehand. For them, its not going to make a difference what putin said. The fact is, and this is something that gets lost in a lot of this discussion, this has been going on for the past eight years. These men who we spoke with at the border, theyve been arrayed there the past eight years, fighting not against the russians but ukrainians, against their fellow compatriots who are being backed by moscow. So if you go out there and you look, it is a very lowtech military. Theyre pretty demoralized. They were a little plucky when we spoke with them. They made a dummy out of putins face and used it for target practice. But for them, the really prevailing mood out there, even after putin spoke, i would imagine, is one of resignation, that this is going to persist. A lot of people here dont believe there is going to be an invasion by the russians. But we spoke with some of the troops out there. Heres what they had to say. Were told the Russian Military is much larger, much more powerful. They have much more advanced weapons than you. Is that intimidating . Translator of course, i think thats more propaganda. Of course we know they have bigger army, but we are well prepared. We are preparing for this war for eight years. Reporter in kyiv and other places, people seem relaxed. Even the president is relaxed. Are you expecting an invasion, or do you think this is all going to go away . Translator i dont expect the invasion, like, right now, but, of course, we need to be prepared anyway because we dont forecast what they are planning to do. Reporter some say the Ukrainian Military is out manned and out gunned by the russians. What do you think . I will fight with my bare hands for my motherland, even if they have more people. Reporter so as you can see, there is a lot of passion out there, even if they are getting snowed on and rained on all the time. At the end of the day, they are outmanned. They are outgunned. Those ak47s are going to be no match for the Russian Military, the third most powerful in the world, which will roll over those positions. Again, the Trench Warfare that is reminiscent of world war i, 100 years ago, itll be no match for russian air power and naval power. The russians will be able to make a meal out of those positions, and much of Ukrainian Military, before they even set foot into the country. Which is why a lot of the military analysts and people who are close to the Defense Ministry tell me that the real strategy is going to be one of a professional insurgency, led by the military after the russians have taken over. Joe, mika . Nbcs matt bradley, live from ukraine. Thank you so much. Lets bring in democratic member of the Foreign Relations committee, senator chris murphy of connecticut. There is a disagreement among members of the committee over the timing of the sanctions. What can you tell us about the sanctions, and also id love to get your reaction to Vladimir Putins Speech Yesterday and where this conflict may be going. Nobody is buying what Vladimir Putin is selling. He claims that nato and the United States present some threat to russia. Of course, nothing could be further from the truth. We are a defensive alliance. Meaning we are in place in Eastern Europe to protect our own territorial integrity. There is never going to be a naval soldier setting a foot on russian soldier. Whats true, its been russia that has invaded neighboring countries and is threatening to move further into ukraine. Were going to help ukraine defend itself. Thats a basic premise of our association with kyiv. On the Foreign Relations committee, the difference is minor. I think theres broad agreement between republicans and democrats on increasing the amount of security aid we give to ukraine, both to their army and to prepare theminsurgency. There is agreement we should put most of the sanctions on after the invasion, if it happens. Were looking at whether there is a handful of smaller sanctions to put in place now. What russia is doing on the border is provocative, is hurting ukraine, and is creating a crisis even before they move further into the weekend. Hopefully the end of the week, well have something to bring republicans and democrats together, showing there is no daylight in the United States senate when it comes to sending a clear message to russia that there are going to be huge consequences if they march into ukraine mika outlined the hardw the nato countries are moving into the region, that theyre using as a show of force to Vladimir Putin. There is a accepts in europe, were putin to invade ukraine, this is the biggest conflict in europe since the second world war. Do you think this show of force and all the assets being moved into the area might give putin an offramp . Might it give him the chance to say, or even to think, this is going to be too big. I thought i could take a bit of ukraine, the eastern corridor, but im not up for the fullscale conflict the west now seems united in supporting or prosecuting . I think it is important to recognize that the troops were talking about sending into the eastern flank of nato are there to protect nato countries. We are not talking about sending u. S. Troops to fight russia inside ukraine. But i do think putin may be getting better, more accurate device right now. Our worry was in the early stages of the crisis, he was holed up in a bunker in sochi, being told hed be greeted as a liberator if he entered ukraine. Nothing could be further from the truth. Ukraine is different than ten years ago. You heard the soldier talking about fighting for his motherland with his bare hands. So hell have a fight on his hands for the long run if he enters to country. I think it is more likely that analysis, of how bad the insurgency is going to be. Yes, we are also telegraphing to him that if he stays home, doesnt bring his troops in, then he wont have 8,000 additional american troops on the eastern flank of nato. Maybe he is considering that as an upside of keeping his troops where they are, as well. Senator chris murphy, as always, thanks so much for being with us. We greatly appreciate it. Jonathan lemire, im curious about the white house reaction, which youre hearing behind the scenes to president putins press conference yesterday. Of course, he blamed the west for the conflict. At the same time, still open to diplomacy. Still looking for an offramp. The biden administration, now that theyve got republicans and democrats shoulder to shoulder, Mitch Mcconnell saying that biden is doing enough on this, are they do they feel like theyre in a good position now to negotiate from a position of strength with Vladimir Putin and perhaps avert this crisis . White house aides ive talked to the last day or so, first of all, heartened by the bipartisan support received by congress. There is a difference of opinion on timing of sanctions for Vladimir Putin, but largely in lock step. In terms of president putins remarks yesterday, yes, tough rhetoric, there always will be. But the fact that putin at all signalled he wants to keep discussions going, have more diplomacy, is a positive sign for those in the biden administration. Perhaps an opening to an offramp. Where war seemed so inevitable in some form, even just a few days ago. Look, the west, its been an interesting dichotomy. The west in washington, concerned, convinced even, that putin would go in, based off intelligence received last summer, suggesting russia was preparing for an invasion. In ukraine, theyve seemed more blase about it. We dont expect it to happen again. Also, ukraine taking some solace in numbers, as was eluded to there. Their military itself is hopelessly outmanned by what russia could present. Right now, if you combine ukraine military, the national guard, its police and so on, they can bring up 600,000 or more who would be willing to fight block by block if needed for their homeland. Of course, which they certainly hope is not needed. So i think there is hope here, that there is an avenue for diplomacy. Question as a last point, the calendar. There is a broad consensus that putin will probably not move, if he were to, during the olympics, for fear of alienating beijing. He doesnt want to upset xi ginseng. February 20th that concludes, the olympic window. After that, well see what putins intentions are. Coming up, the president of the American Psychiatric association will be our guest to discuss the battle for the American Mind in the social media age. Morning joe is coming right back. Age. Morning joe is coming right back delivery man thats for you. mail recipient 1 these are opened. mail recipient 2 and it came like this . delivery man i dont know theyre all open. This ones open too. Privacy is important to you . mail recipient 4 yeah. Privacy is really important to me. mail recipient 5 it is to everybody mail recipient 6 privacy is everything mail recipient 7 whose been reading our mail . delivery man i dont know whose been reading it, i just deliver it. mail recipient 5 this is my family here mail recipient 8 this is a picture of me and my wife. mail recipient 4 this has all my information on it delivery man i know. I saw them. mail recipient 1 do you wanna pay a bill since you went through them . Your record label is taking off. 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But with the business side. Im feeling a little lost. Quickbooks can help. An easy way to get paid, pay your staff, and know where your business stands. New business . No problem. Success starts with intuit quickbooks. Woman whats my safelite story . Si see inspirationh right through my glass. So when my windshield cracked, i chose safelite. They replaced the glass and recalibrated my safety system. Thats service i can trust. Singers safelite repair, safelite replace. Its ten minutes before the top of the hour. When it comes to Mental Health, they find a third of americans say social media does more harm than good to their Mental Health. The poll also finds that nearly half say social media has hurt society at large. 42 believe it has hurt political discourse. Joining us now, president of the American Psychiatric association dr. Vivian pender. She is a clinical profess or of psychiatry. It is good to have you on the show. Thank you for being here. I think one of the things that i am seeing raising a lot of kids is that social media is overtaking journalism in terms of where young people get their information, how they are influenced, and weve already seen studies about the impact of like instagram on young girls and leading to suicidal you spe social media is having on the young mind . Yes. It is especially important. Being socially connected is very important for everyone and it can relieve all kind of feelings of stress and anxiety. And but in this current age, young people are using social media for their news to get their news. And a lot of whats on social media is unfiltered. You cant really determine how true it is. I think people are willing to write things more or say things in writing on social media than they would in person. So this is especially affecting children. I feel like an entire several actst when we were growing up, you had telephones, you had to wait moments to use the telemoney, you were nervous about calling people. Feelings are flying in thin air, hitting at people without a lot of thought behind them. And also, young people can see where everyone is gathering. They can see when theyre left out. And there is no discourse to tie it together to explain it. And i am wondering what you think can be done to still have the benefits, i guess, of social media being able connect to influence in a positive way. But yet, find a way around having all this harm happening. Because its so unchecked. Well, there are things that can be done and what i tell my family, friends, patients, is that they need to turn it off sometimes put the phone down, i have my phone connected with my hands, there are times that i have to turn it off, dont take it to bed with you. You know and read it as the last thing that you are seeing at night. Get out and exercise. Get some fresh air. Turn off essentially turn off the phone and the amount of information that is coming at you, i spoke to an older woman who was overwhelmed by the amount of information that she was reading online and it made her worried. She was one of those people that felt much worse reading news and it was worrying her. We helped her to turn it off, put it down, listen to music. Get outside, replace it with other things. Yeah. Theres two conversations here. There is a bigger one we can have about what social Media Companies should or should not be doing. If there is anything to regulate, how they can do better. What i am hearing here as we close, is great advice for parents. I spent some time with young girls recently, traveling with them and literally i have never seen someone on the phone more than like a 12yearold girl for hours on end, practices need to be putting that phone down, getting outside, being away for it from long periods of time. Kids are growing up with the phones in their faces, it is not healthy. President of the American Psychiatric association v. Vivian pender, thank you very much for coming on the show this morning. Thank you. Thank you. Still ahead, Stacey Abrams played a rouge role in turning georgia blue in the 2020 electiont. Now she is hoping to keep the momentum going in her race for governor this year. She joins us at the top of the hour. Plus, republicans that voted to impeach former President Trump are seeing encouraging signs in the fundraising efforts. Well talk about what that means for the midterms. And an aborted landing at Londons Heathrow airport. Well explain what happened. The moment a British Airways pilot tried to touch down on the runway. Morning joe is coming right back. The runway morning joe is coming right back its still the eat fresh refresh™ and subways refreshing everything like the new Honey Mustard rotisseriestyle chicken. Its sweet, its tangy, its tender, it never misses. 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The morning, the New York Times reports the January 6th Committee is now investigating Donald Trumps role in trying to seize Voting Machines in key swing states in the weeks after losing the 2020 election. Thats according to three people with knowledge of the committees activities the times says it is unclear what evidence they are examining. Its the draft circulating among the former president s attorneys that would have authorized the pentagon to seize Voting Machines in key swing states. But trump says congress should be investigating mike pence in a new Statement Released yesterday. The former president said, congressional investigators should look into quote why mike pence did not send back the votes for recertification or approval. The statement appears to be an attempt to clean up or add nuance to his statement from sunday night that pence quote could have overturned the election. Which kind of like was the quiet part out loud. Trurps not only attacking his own Vice President , but also one of his staunchest allies in the senate, Lindsey Graham. It speaks to a strange pattern where the expresident s interests are, well, strangely placed. Here is his sort of endorsement of democrat Stacey Abrams for governor of georgia. And thats okay. Stacy, would you like to take us places . Okay with me. Having her might be better than your existing governor, if you want to know the truth. It might very well be better. Ha. Okay. And the candidates are georgia governor Stacey Abrams joins us now. Former House Minority leader for the georgia general assembly. Stacy, we can get to a pot pourry of issues of Voting Rights and georgia as far as donald trump possibly being indicted down there, lets talk about your campaign. It has gotten off to inan incredible start. You are nextandneck with a sitting governor. You raised close to 10 million. That aint bad. Tell us how the campaign is going. We are incredibly excited. In 60 days, we have raised 9. 25 Million Dollars from more than 100,000 donors. We will parce the numbers out over the next two days. We are excited about the mix, especially the georgians invested in this campaign. Working together, we can create one georgia, a georgia why we serve everyone. Unlike the current governor, i like georgia. My focus is on building a campaign, using these resources in reaching out, educating voters how to cast ballots in november and how we navigate the pain they are feeling now, but build a future with a vision for how we can all rise together. Whats your top issue . I mean, that is a great general vision for the state i was born if. But what are one of the two issues you find voters are most animated by, most moved by . We have to begin by expanded medicaid if. Ga. Because its a lynchpin for all three of the issues that matter. If you want economic mobility, if you want social mobility, if you want educational mobility, Medicaid Expansion brings billions of dollars to georgia, creates Securities Exchange commission,000 new jobs, will anchor communities, especially Rural Communities that are losing access to healthcare and you know well as someone who has worked on this, you cant bring a company to a community that doesnt have a doctor. So by anchoring healthcare in communities that have lost it by investing in the real estate and in the policing, billions of dollars will transform the entire state. So we know that in states like kentucky and indiana and ohio, where they have expanded medicaid, we know that the change that it has brought is one that is worth it. So we have to be a state that joins the rest of the country, accepts the dollars that we have already paid into the system and changes our economy. That then leads to other issues. We have to fully fund education. Not the gimmicks we see from the governor now, longterm Public Safety and criminal Justice Reform and do the work making sure Small Businesses that are the cornerstone of how you keep the Community Together they are getting the attention that they need regardless of where they are located. Obviously, your campaign is being conducted under the shadow of the new Voting Rights restrictions placed in your state that, of course, gather a lot of attention when they were put forth at year or so ago. How will that impact how you run your campaign . Can you win in the shadow of those restrictions . We can win. The challenge is that georgians shouldnt have to navigate these barriers and try to circumnavigate the remarkable and brazen Voter Suppression regime that we see before us. We know that already these laws have had an effect on how voters have been able to conduct themselves in elections. So were going to do the work to push back. We will make sure every voter understands how to cast their ballots. We will do what we know works. If you want to push them back with Voter Suppression, overwhelm the numbers. We will have 2. 3 million new voters that joined since 2018 to show the Current Administration voters in georgia want a better future. We will help them get it. Its great to see you. I am so happy and excited about your campaign for obvious reasons. I want to ask a couple of questions, really quickly him one. Sure. How are you going to get black voters excited to turn out in massive numbers . Given what were seeing at the National Level . There is we know President Biden is bleeding back, the race of support for him. How then once you show that, can you convince the dnc of the model of how to campaign with regards to these communities that you tried to convince them the last time you ran. Does that make sense . Maybe im too excited . It does. No, i appreciate the question. The best way to get people to believe what is possible is to show them what you have done. What weve constructed in 2018 got us close to the finish line. What happened in 2020 and 2021, is that we delivered the highest of turnout of voters of color across the state, especially black voters to excite black voters, you have to talk about their need, understand their campaign and create a vision for the future. Thats what i do. Whats more important is i am not new to georgians. I have been working in the state in politics for 15 years. Even more i have been working at the ground level, helping Small Businesses, delivering vaccines, food to pantries, doing the work of helping black people and here in georgia where we know the governor has done the least amount possible to serve their needs. As a member of that community, i understand if we serve those who are the most overlooked, then you end up serving everyone. I want to build a multiracial, multiethnic state wide coalition. At the core will be the belief that georgians believe better, they deserve to 35 in a state of opportunity, not a state of inaction. I will be the person that leads that. Stacy, there has been some concern about Voting Rights activists, the lack of progress here in washington and perhaps President Bidens inability to push this or decision not to push this as much as he could have done is an issue on capitol hill might turn away some black voters. They will say, look, if every single time we get asked to save the Democratic Party, but the Democratic Party when its in power doesnt come through to us, we dont want to bother voting any more. You pointed to the 2. 3 plus million voters you have if georgia. Africanamericans might decide if you cant help us out, we bone e wont bother going to the polls the next time around . In every election, there are three decisions, do you vote for one person, the other person or fought at all. All of the work i have done around Voting Rights and access has been focused on we never ignore that third choice. The work i will continue to do is make certain that we understand that the right to vote is sacred. But its also personal. You have to give people something to vote for. Yes, we feed Voting Rights reform in this country. This is about saving our democracy. That is not a partisan conversation. Thats a patriotism conversation. We, in your earlier segment, you talk autocracy. We are not immune to the autocracy we are seeing around the country, around the world. In the United States and the state of georgia, we need Voting Rights laws not so that democrats can win elections, so that americans the preserve elections. So i want to make certain we dont conflate winning an election for one person with protecting our democracy. So i will work with President Biden and the senate to push always for Voting Rights. But in the state of georgia, i am going to run a campaign to turn out every voter, because they will believe especially black voters there is a vision for their future and i will be a part of making that vision true. So miss abrams, obviously, Voting Rights is a packs of yours and a principle of yours. The president of the United States came to your home state last month to deliver a speech on that topic. You werent there, citing scheduling conflicts. Where were you, why were you not in the president is that a sign of no confidence on his issue . My absence was a personal matter the president understood. He was able to deliver an extraordinary speech without me being there, because he knows i stand with him on these issues. I am not someone who shys away from my opinions. I am a fan of and advocate for and an ally of president joe biden. So deliverables in the state of georgia brought back not only by President Biden but by our two extraordinary senators rafael war knock and osoff, President Biden is at the top of that list. There is no focus on delivering for georgia and the United States and i look forward to working with his administration to continue to bring the resources to georgia necessary to move our state forward. Stacy, we heard from a governor in the state of new hampshire. A republican who went down and looked at washington, d. C. And said thanks but no thanks. Its far too partisan. As you know, politics in washington, d. C. , so much more partisan than politics on the state level. Governors actually work with state legislators. They actually have to work with members of the other party. Whether its chris sununu in inch or if you are the next governor, governor abrams in the state of georgia. Talk about working with republicans, how you have in the past and why voters who are trying to figure out in lets say those, the northern atlanta suburbs, that sometimes decide elections, explain to them how you will work effectively with the republican legislature, if there is one . Well, you introduced me as a former minority leader in georgia. I will tell you minority leader in the title, i cant win unless i can work with other folks we cant get it done unless we can work together. Johnny isakson, former senator, god rest his soul. He told me once having been a minority leader during his tenure. Its a job that has neither carrot or stick. You can only get things done if you were able to work with the other side. I was good at it. I preserved prek in the state of georgia. I fought back against the single largest tax increase in the history. I was able to provide access to transportation, to job benefits. We did a lot of work together. We may disagree on certain values. When the raw is how you move georgia forward, i was always at the table. I worked with republican governors, the speaker of the house. I worked with everyone. Because my focus is on how you dlufr for georgia. As the governor, i have a long track record, one thats been vouched for by republicans, even after i have beaten them on an issue. I work with everyone. And my job is to serve the people of georgia. I look forward to doing that as the next governor. Georgia candidate for governor, Stacey Abrams, thank you. Its always good to see you. Stacy is also the author of the new Childrens Book entitled stacys extraordinary words. We appreciate that thank you for being on this morning. Republicans seeking reelection who backed former President Trumps impeachment or voted to convict him last year are outpacing their gop challengers in the money race, according to latest federal Election Commission filings. Filings released this week show the eight republican whos voted in favor of either impeachment or conviction and are facing voters this year raised more money than those who seek to outs them from office. Leading the way, congresswoman liz cheney, who pulled in nearly 2 million during the last three months of 2021. On the senate side, lisa murcowski, of alaska, more than doubled her opponents fundraising haul last quarter. These are, by the way, these are two women. Remarkable numbers. Two women that donald trump absolutely hates, that donald trump wants to to get beaten through the elections. Yet theyre outfundraising everybody else. As a whole, the fund raising total show knocking pro impeachment republican out of congress will not be a walk in the park for trumps preferred candidates. This as the Republican National committee is set to debate endorsing the ouster of cheney and congressman Adam Kinzinger during its winter meeting in Salt Lake City this week. Lets say if they do, what a great honor, a badge of honor that would be for liz cheney and Adam Kinzinger, their families, future generations, historians will look back at these two. Yeah. As two legislators that kept their wits about them while the rest of their party was losing their mind as they followed a Game Show Host off the cliff. So, i mean, wow, what an honor that would be. Lets bring into the conversation director of domestic policy studies at Stanford University lanni chen, a professor at Fordham University christina greer. Good to have you both. Lanni, i am curious your thoughts on a recent spate of polls showing republicans not moving from donald trump, identifying more as republicans than supporters of donald trump. There has been a dramatic change. You now have 44 of republicans saying they dont want donald trump to run for reelection. I wonder what your thoughts are on that, if you think thats why his rhetoric is becoming even more estranged. I think its a reflection. I think you are seeing this in the data across the country, regardless of the state, you are seeing people saying that they are returning to a view thats close to the Republican Party and closer to some of the traditional values the Republican Party has had. I do think, frankly, at the end of the day, what you are seeing with the fundraising, a lot of these incumbents are shoing. A lot of the vision with the Republican Party is this notion that the part should and can be i think a Big Tent Party again. Remember, joe, when you were in congress, when we were talking about the Republican Party from that period of time, it was a very different conversation. It was how does the Republican Party become more appealing . How does it become more appealing to voters of color, to people across the political spectrum . Unfortunately, we went away from that conversation for some time. Now it feels we have an opportunity to bring it back again. Well see. Obviously, this election cycle will be very, very telling. We have to see how this is developing the data you seen, a lot of what you suggests that there is this opportunity, the moment potentially to take the party in a different direction. Great to see you this morning. I want to get your take on this polls suggest there are perhaps a slight lessening of trumps grip on the Republican Party. He is still far and away the most dominant figure in the gop. If there is an opening there, who can take advantage of it or do you believe this is a temporary blip and that he when all is said and done if he wants it, hes the nominee in 24 . I think lanni makes important points. So many republicans dont mind pushing their agenda. They dont like gridlock and deadlock. That explains why some incumbents have been able to raise money. I think jonathan will have a better sense after the 2022 midterms. Data shows us that republicans are the party out of power tends to take seeds in the midterm election. If that tradition holds, we will see the Republican Party gain seats in congress and possibly take majority. Now after that, we will see either people kissing the ring of donald trump or trying to distance themselves in saying, well, why arent we go after immigrants or people of color . Are we becoming the party of white nationalists only . Why are we talking about a safety net and old conversations republicans used to have, someone leak george h. W. Bush. Republicans werent into bank books like they are now. There is this antiintellectualism that permeated the Republican Party threatening to destroy it and our nation. So after 2022 midterms, i think we will have a better sense. I honestly, jonathan, dont think that donald trump wants to run. I think his ego wants to run. He is more interested in holding the governors and senators have to come down to many, maralgo, spend money and also kiss the ring and beg him for some sort of endorsement as we saw if georgia, if they dont, he will come to their state and actively work against them, something we have not seen since donald trump came to power. Lanni, can i have a conversation with David Leonhardt we were having surrounding inflation. David seemed to be suggesting actually there was an argument, the argument larry somers made, if you pump in a ton of stimulus money to people that didnt necessarily feed it, it was going to lead to inflation. Is that causing a kind of rethink on that original white house strategy . They were so confident and so pleased with that stimulus bill that they passed last spring. Is it now something that you think might come back to bite them, especially in the midterms in. Yeah, it very well could. I think what you are seeing is real inflationary pressure, prices, input prices are all higher. So i definitely think thats an issue. I think heres the problem, though, there is not really an easy solution that the policy levers to deal with it are very different from a legislative and executive perspective a. Lot of this is going to end up in the hand of the fed. There is not much the administration can do. In the first place what they did was to effect chu what it this massive stimulus. With i i do argue contributed to what we are seeing with inflation now. Its a lot harder to roll that back than it was to cause a problem in the first place. And on the way back to dealing with this, there is probably going to be, there are going to be some pain points for the economy next year or rather this year. So those create political liabilities and potential issues for the white house and for democrats in congress because you know with all the levers of power, theyre going to be forced to account i think for some of these trends we are seeing in the economy. Even though a lot has been the making of several years. What weve seen is a real punctuation mark with all money coming into the economy. Professor green, its great to see you. I have gone over my fanning over Stacey Abrams. I want to ask you this direct question. What do you think will be the impact of the failure to pass the George Floyd Policing Act. The failure to deliver the Voting Rights act, if terms of black voter turnout, how do you think democrats will fare if black folk feel they havent in some ways failed them . I think black folk have been feeling both parties have been naming them for quite some time. I think what the democrats need to do is more articulation why they failed. Not that they didnt try. I definitely think Chuck Schumer needs a little more lbj in him to get his house in order and get things passed. I think what Stacey Abrams was articulating, voters, especially black voters, go to the polls on pocketbook issues, so as important as the john lewis Voting Rights act, the George Floyd Policing Act should be, many voters are thinking about just walk us through, how am i doing . Where is, you know, my Economic Security . And so what we think about a candidate like tracy abrams who can go to what is the 159 counties in goomt and walk voters through why it is they need a change in leadership, because, obviously, on a state level, we can work with state houses and try to change things. As important as this policing and Voting Rights act are, there are a lot of other issues that are incredibly pressing and on the table and it is still imperative that people turn out even though theyve had temporary setbacks and losses. It doesnt mean its over. We know, eddie, you are a historian as well. We have ebbed and flowed as a nation. We had progress and regress. This is a setback, something democrats have to keep working on, especially if they have a slim majority right now. I think a lot of American Voters and black voters want to make sure that their jobs are secure, their neighborhoods are secure, that their schools are secure and that local and state leadership is providing that, eastern when washington, d. C. Is dealing with gridlock and deadlock. No doubt about it. Christine greer and lanni chen, thank you both so much. Great conversation. I hope to see you again soon. Now, if you are a nervous flyer like mika, this next piece of video not for you. Dramatic footage shows a moment a special jet was forced to abort a landing attempt at londons largest airport, heathrow airport. Easy, easy, easy go book. Okay. On monday when strong winds disrupted the touchdown attempt. After bumping along the runway for a few second, the pilot lifted the jet back into the sky, we are told, the plane landed safely and successfully on a second attempt. No injuries were reported. For people that followed things like this, you cant look at this and not remember what happened at dallasft. Worth back in the 1980s with a delta flight. That obviously is a frightening moment. Im glad they all landed safely. Still ahead on morning joe, a spokesman about efforts to find a diplomatic solution and a way out of the russiaukraine crisis. Plus, potentially good news for parents who struggled with quarantines and child care, as pfizer seeks emergency approval for the only group of americans that currently cant get one, young kids. You are watching morning joe. Well be right back. You are watching morning joe. Well be right back. Thinkorswim® by Td Ameritrade is more than a trading platform. Its an entire trading experience. That pushes you to be even better. 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So boost your bottom line by switching today. Comcast business. Powering possibilities. ™. Welcome back. The pfizer shot could soon be coming to the only group that remains ineligible for vaccination, small children under the age of five. If approved, young kids could begin getting protected by the end of the month. Nbc news tom costello report. Reporter this morning, millions of children under the age of five are one step closer to becoming eligible for the Covid Vaccine. An fda panel says it will meet to consider pfizers request for the twodose vaccine for kids ages six months through fouryearsold. The prospect the shots could soon be within arms reach for small children, bringing hope and relief to many families. As a parent, i need to do Everything Possible to protect them from possible bad outcomes. Reporter this family has two kids under the age of five. Mom says assuming the data shows the shots are safe and effective. Her kids will get vaccinated immediately. Its one of the only things we can do to protect our children who arent old enough to mask effectively, who really cant surround themselves with vaccinated people. Reporter a new study finds many parents remain cautious about the Covid Vaccine. Just 31 say they vaccinate kids under five right away. 29 will wait and see while 26 say they will definitely not vaccinate their youngest kids. One potential concern, in a clinical trial, two doses that ill to produce a strong immune response among kids ages 2to4. Instead, only kids between six months and two years had a response comparable to that of young kids and adults. Pfizer requests two doses to build immunity, its continuing research on whether three doses would provide even more protection. A doctor on the fdas outside Vaccine Committee that evaluates safety. We want to make sure the vaccine works and its safe before we ever recommend it for americas children. Reporter hoping to boost Vaccination Rates among kids, the American Academy of pediatrics is urging parents to talk to their doctors if thigh have any concerns. The Covid Vaccine if anything is under more scrutiny than ever before. We just havent seen Major Concerns with safety of these vaccines. That was nbcs tom costello reporting. Coming up, an explosive lawsuit filed against the nfl, more allegations of Racial Discrimination next on morning joe. Llegations of racial making your way in The World Today discrimination next on morning joe. Hing youve got taking a break from all your worries sure would help a lot wouldnt you like to get away . Sometimes you want to go where Everybody Knows your name and theyre always glad you came you want to be where you can see our troubles are all the same you want to be where Everybody Knows your name you want to go where people know people are all the same you want to go where Everybody Knows your name my plaque psoriasis. The itching. 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Reporter flores believe they only interviewed him in order to comply with the rooney rule an nfl requirement that minority candidates will considered for Head Coaching Positions. The suit says they hired brian duval, who had no head coaching experience when they brought flores in. It includes screen shots of texts by head coach Bill Belichick mistakenly, before he interviewed, congratulating him, sounds like you have landed, congrats. Flores then asks, are you talking to brian flores or brian daboll. He said, sorry, if i f this up. Belichick has not returned our calls for comment. The giants defending hiring practices in a statement writing, in part, brian flores was in the conversation to be our head coach until the 11th hour. Ultimately, we hired the person we felt most qualified. Flores taking aim at Miami Dolphins owner stephen ross, who offered to pay him to lose games if 2019 to improve the teams draft position, offering 100,000 per loss. The suit alleged he repeated refusals to comply which wled to his firing and led him difficult to work w. The team denies Racial Discrimination. On tuesday, flores says it may put his coaching at risk. He adds, my sincere hope is that by standing up against systemic racism in the nfl, others will join me for generations to come. Coming up, the latest on the standoff with russia. When the top spokesman at the state Department Ned price joins the conversation, morning joe is back in a moment. Is back in a real cowboys get customized car insur moment. With liberty mutual, so we only pay for what we need. Hey tex, wooo. Can someone else get a turn . Yeah, hang on, im about to break my own record. Only pay for what you need. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. music only pay for what you need. Who said you have to starve yourself to lose weight . Who said you cant do dinner . Who said only this is good . And this is bad . Im doing it my way. Meet plenity. 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Nbc news Foreign Correspondent Richard Engel has the latest from ukraine. Reporter as russia strengthens its presence north of ukraine, within striking distance of the ukrainian capital kyiv, russian president Vladimir Putin broke his silence. In a wide socially distant press statement with the Prime Minister of hungary, putin rejected the u. S. And natos written diplomatic proposals. Putin saying russias concerns were basically ignored. He laid out his demand, unchanged even after weeks of negotiations across europe. No further nato expansion. No Offensive Weapons by russias borders and nato returning to the 1997 status quo, he said. That would mean loping off most of Eastern Europe from nato. Putin is famousy covid19 cautious. The Prime Minister said he never had a meeting so far apart. The russian president never mentioned those 130,000 russian troops, tanks, missile launchers and blood supplies positioned on ukraines borders. The buildup apparent in new satellite images. In ukraine, even though the government is urging calm, some families are getting nervous. Near the russian border, olga and daniel live in a one bedroom apartment. Theyre keeping the kids calm, acting as nothing is going on the wheels of the bus go round and round all through the town you know this song . Everybody knows that song. Reporter but they are ready to move at a moments notice, to stay with relatives in the countryside or a bomb shell. These are all the critical documents. All our our critical documents for my boys. Reporter this morning, ol go traveled across the city to sign up for ukraines civil defense, volunteering to help the war effort should putin decide to invade. With us now a u. S. Spokesman from the state department, ned price. Ned, thank you so much for being with us today. I am curious what the state departments response is to Vladimir Putins press conference yesterday. Obviously, he said some things you all strenuously disagree with. Also, it looked like the possibility for an offramp, what is your take . Joe, i think that itself precisely the point. You have criminologists all around the world on your airways trying to parce every single syllable, every sentence of Vladimir Putin. I think its fair to say if you do that, you will find reasons for optimism just as you will find reasons to have pessimism, determining, depending on what it is you are referring to. Heres the thing, we are not optimistic but feater are we pessimistic. We are cleareyed. We are cleareyed about the stakes. Thats why we have been relentless in our diplomacy. Weve undertaken more than 180 engagements, talking with allies, talking with partners. Making sure in our approach with the russian fred e federation, with whom we continue to speak, including secretary blinken yesterday with his counterpart we are sending a clear and unambiguous united message, that the United States, the International Community will not stand for further russian aggression against you kra in. Its been quite a show of unity by so many across the west with the exception, of course, of germany. Is the state department disappointed with the fact that the germans seem to be dragging their feet at every opportunity they have to pitch in . And has the president , has the state department let their displeasure will known to the germans . Joe, we were in berlin just last month now. We had a chance to meet with chancellor schultz, secretary blinken. We had a chance to meet with the foreign minister of germany. You heard, we heard in private and the world heard in public, including the secretary blinken stood next to his german count part, the German Government issued strong statements about the cost that would befuel the Russian Federation if it were to move forward with a renewed ag aggression, against ukraine. Nato allies, partners around the world need to stand up to show their support for ukraine. The United States has done that in big ways. Our nato allies has done that in different ways. Different allies, partners, they have different competencies, different comparative advantages. Our point in all of this is what we provide ukraine need to be complimentary, it need to be mutually reenforcing. We have seen germany provide needed assistance to ukraine just as the United States and other nato allies have done the same. Hey, then, jonathan le mere. The counterpart wet e met with lavrov. Two things, one, could you president eview, give us a sense as to when the next set of talks might be, the Secretary Of State or at the president ial level between washington and moscow and moscow, and secondly, incursion can mean more than a tank going across the border. Theres a lot of talk about Cyber Attacks of russia. What do you know in terms of their activity in terms of hacking across the border. The secretary did have an opportunity to speak to foreign minister lavrov. This was a call agreed to in principle when we last saw lavrov in geneva. The secretary conveyed two key messages yesterday, number one, what we have put forward now in writing is a series of serious substantiative proposals that if negotiated in good faith, which we will do in full coordination with our allies and partners has the potential to work to our National Security benefit. It has the potential to address the security concerns of the transatlantic community, our allies and partners in europe, but also has the potential to address the stated concerns of the Russian Federation, and so we do, indeed, hope that moscow continues down the path of diplomacy, and does so in good faith. But the second point is equally important. In order for that to work, diplomacy has to take place in the context of deescalation, not in the context of escalation. This is what we have yet to see. We have yet to see tangible concrete signs of deescalation. We heard from foreign minister lavrov, the russians will in turn have their own written response to what we call in bureaucratic speak our nonpaper. We are awaiting that. Once we receive that, once its approved as we understand by Vladimir Putin, it will be sent over to us and we heard from the russians from there they will be willing to have discussions. What form, what format that will take, the timing of that, that is to be determined. When it comes to President Biden, President Biden was asked this question specifically in his News Conference last month. He made the point weve consistently made. He remains willing and open to engage at the leader level with Vladimir Putin. President biden has done that on a couple of occasions in recent weeks alone with a phone call, with a Video Conference with Vladimir Putin. If it makes sense, if it is constructive, if it is the next best step to push the diplomacy forward, were certainly open to that. The bottom line remains, in order for this diplomacy to succeed, it needs to take place in the context of deescalation. What can the United States do, though . What can the United States to Vladimir Putin . We cant go back to boundaries as far as nato goes. What can we give russia if the goal is to deescalate . This goes back to the first point that secretary blinken conveyed to foreign minister lavrov yesterday and when we saw him in geneva last month, and namely that there are a series, we believe, of substantive, serious proposals that could work to our benefit, to the benefit of our allies and partners across the atlantic, but could also address the stated security concerns in moscow. These are things like the placement of offensive missiles in europe. Measures that could increase stability, increase transparency, other arms controls proposals that we have been seeking to discuss with the Russian Federation even before this troop build up along the border of ukraine. The point in this diplomacy is not to offer anything to the Russian Federation. It is to find ideas that would work to our benefit, that would work to the benefit of our allies and partners but that also would work to address what russia has put forward as its own concerns. We believe if you sort of take a vin diagram that there is a middle ground, an intersection of concerns, where we can, if negotiabilitied in good faith make progress on all sides. State department spokesperson, ned price, appreciate you being with us this morning. Thank you. And coming up next, just revealed name for the washington Football Team. Well bring that exciting news to you when we come right back. S to you when we come right back with voltaren arth s pain gel. My husbands got his moves back. An alternative to pills, voltaren is a nonsteroidal antiinflammatory gel for powerful arthritis pain relief. Voltaren, the joy of movement. With relapsing forms of ms. Theres a lot to deal with. Not just unpredictable relapses. All these other things too. It can all add up. Kesimpta is a oncemonthly athome injection. That may help you put these rms challenges in their place. 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And it learns with you, so as you become smarter, so do its recommendations. So its like my streaming service. Well except now youre binge learning. See how you can become a smarter investor with a personalized education from Td Ameritrade. Visit tdameritrade. Com learn moments ago the washington Football Team unveiled its new name. It had all the excitement of a power point presentation on swedish land use. Joe thiseman was right, its the washington commanders. Jonathan, that feeling thats coming over you right now, chills all over your body right now. The commanders. Yeah, fans of the team have already expressed complete disappointment in this choice. Obviously meant to invoke the military, the pentagon there, commander in chief. Its also name of joe bidens new dog, and meets the anymore nicknames, the commies. How is d. C. Going to embrace the commies. I think its going to be a problem. We have the former soviet union rearing its ugly head. Even the commanders, im sorry, thats just like too macho for me. Its just so boring. Eddie, your final thoughts. Its a name appropriate for a team owned by dan snyder. Bingo. All right, the professor, as always, wise with his insights, and he says, by the way, if youre keeping score at home that im a good dude. Thank you for having patience with us again this morning. We appreciate it. That does it for us today. Stephanie ruhle, though, picking up the coverage right now. Hey there, im stephanie ruhle, live at msnbc headquarters right here in New York City. It is wednesday, february 2nd, groundhog day, and we have got a ton to get to this morning so take a seat, and lets get smarter. Were going to start this mornings broadcast overseas with russian president Vladimir Putin, finally responding to western efforts to avoid a war in ukraine after more than a month of staying quiet. Putin now saying his countrys security demands areei