Transcripts For MSNBCW Morning Joe 20190201

And we expect mike pompeo to announce the u. S. Will withdraw from a key Nuclear Arms Treaty with russia. Some experts worry abandoning the agreement could lead it a new arms race. Well go live to the state department. A lot. But we begin with President Trump labelling the bipartisan government funding and Border Security negotiations as a waste of time. Yesterday the president told reporters that he would declare a National State of emergency if theres no funding for his border wall. Here is where the House Speaker stand and where he stands exactly two weeks before the funding deadline. Theres not going to be any wall money in the legislation. Theres a place for enhanced fencing, normandy fencing would work. Let them have that discussion. Could i have done it differently . No, not really. I think by having the shutdown, weve set the table for where we are now. If i didnt do the shutdown, people wouldnt know, they wouldnt understand the subject. Reporter are you going to declare a National Emergency if theres no money for the wall . I would do at that. Nancy pelosi said theres not going to be a wall in this deal but she did say shed be open to other kinds of physical barriers. Would you accept that . No, because if theres no wall, it doesnt work. Shes playing games. If you go to tijuana and you take down that wall, you will have so many people coming into that country that nancy pelosi will be begging for a wall. Sheet shell be begging for a wall. Shell say, mr. President , please, please give us a wall. I think nancy pelosi is hurting our country very badly by doing what shes doing. And ultimately i think ive set the table very nicely. I think people understand. They understand, peter. They didnt know what was going on at the southern border. Now they know. They had no idea the amount of crime, the amount of drugs, the amount of Human Trafficking, which can be stopped. I set the table, ive set the stage for doing what im going to do. Im going to wait till the 15th. I think its a waste of time. He keeps saying he set the table. He keeps saying he set this up perfectly. He doesnt realize politically he set the table and hes whats for dinner. Like hes cooked himself, hes cooked the Republican Party, their numbers collapsed, nobody believes him anymore. Hes completely this has been a disaster for the past three weeks and here we go part two of it. And if you are a republican on capitol hill, youve got to be sitting there thinking, my god, how low is he going to drag this party . Joe, i talked to some republicans on capitol hill yesterday, they are furious that the president has taken this line. Theyve come on camera and said again shutdowns are bad, we do not want another shutdown, please, mr. President , stay on the sideline, we can work with Speaker Pelosi. Speaker pelosis quote, there is not going to be any wall funding in the bill. She said if you want to do a wall, go ahead, but theres not going to be any wall money. Pr President Trump tweeting all day yesterday hes goes back and forth. If youre a rab epublican on capitol hill, you have to be furious. He said maybe its a wall, maybe its slats, now its a wall. Maybe who likes a wall rhymes with fall. Again, the group of pop who end up losing the end are the republicans. How about the new rationale for the shutdown, we heard a few times yesterday, it was an educational exercise. We shut down the government and kept paychecks from federal employees because i wanted to educate people about the problems at the border, now they understand it and theyll be on my side. P polls show the opposite. He tweeted 13 times yesterday before noon. He ywrote, a wall a is wall, warned of large caravans. He tweeted three separate caravans marching toward our border to which democrat swalwell responded these caravans, do you see them in the office with you now . You listen to him this morning and its so easy to normalize this insanity. If we stepped back and this was not President Trump and this was somebody else, in one fell swoop said hi to educate people about this problem so thats why i had to do this when we know statistically its the opposite, its an alltime low for immigration and at the same time he said nancy pelosi is going to beg for this wall. He complete lily contradicts hi intelligence heads or north korea and isis and the senate rebuked him on afghanistan and syria. Hes in an alternate reality. Hes insane. We laugh about it because it is so unsettling, but if we were objective from this, if we had not lived through 25 months of it, you would say and im not overstating this, hes out of his mind. Hes literally out of his mind. And its unhinged. Its absurd. So for now it really is. You, like donnie, like mika, like myself, weve all known donald trump for a long time. Youve probably known him longer than most of us. Do you recognize the guy even if there were things before you found abhorrent, do you recognize the guy sitting there, rambling, talking in circles . He just got handed the worst political defeat any republican president s been handed since watergate and then he does this shutdown which destroys his poll numbers even more and here he is just going in this bizarre loop. No, hes actually deteriorated. Because we always knew he was a salesman and he would, as Michael Bloomberg said played a con man most of his career, but now you have got to where hes bizarre. To actually when the republicans are trying to blame the democrats for the shutdown, he snatches ownership back yesterday by saying, no, i did it so we could teach the American Public the issue. So the whole argument that this was the democrats being inflexible, caused the shutdown, he just ripped up in shreds, which he would have read better than that 20 years ago. But the second part is the insensitivity. When he would meet with us, he would fain like he cared or had some kind of sensitivity. To say i reset the table, when he literally took food off of federal workers table is really adding insult to injury here. I cant believe hed even discuss a table when youre talking about federal workers that were literally out pawning their valuables so they could put food on the table. This is not even a con mans kind of way of operating. This is a man that has lost it. Everything he does, john, is selfdestructi selfdestructive. He keeps doing thanksgiving tind up hurting himself, hurting the Republican Party. You know what, before our Approval Rating goes down to 14 , maybe we should go over and have an intervention. We did actually see that on the senate floor yesterday. I guess that was a start speaking out against his theories in afghanistan. What hes setting the table for is the declaration of the information emergency that will allow him to shift money over to at least make a cosmetic show of building the wall. It is possible that nancy pelosi is overplaying her hand, which is to say in december she agreed, they all agreed to a 5. 7 outlay for the wall. He shuts the government down because he decides its not enough, he loses the shutdown and now she is playing michael corl corl corleone, heres my offer, nothing. Thats an interesting political strategy. Im not sure the public thinks that the wall is insane, it may its not valuable but she is in fact fact not negotiating with him on the wall. She is saying zero, zilch, nothing. I dont think that necessarily manse shes going to lose this again, but it does allow him to make the claim that democrats are not serious about Border Security so i have to declare the National Emergency. John, nobody is saying that any wall is insane. She did say the walls are immoral, right . She handed him that. That was an unforced error. Donald trumps view of a huge, beautiful wall from sea to shining sea is not only immoral, its stupid. If you talk to anybody on the border, they will tell you its stupidinfectieffectivineffectiv. Poor donald trump is just trying to find somebody who would negotiate with him in good faith. They tried to negotiate with him a year ago, dianne feinstein, you guys figure this out. They came up with a bill that included a wall and daca. Then they said you say 1. 7, lets go 2. 5 because he had authority to do that. Then the president takes that back. At some point you go you know what, fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, as george w. Bush would say, dont get fooled again. Enoughs enough. Thats where i think Mitch Mcconnell did Something Different with the syria and afghanistan resolution. If you think that is happening in isolation, that is foolish. Trump screwed mcconnell in december, terribly, right . Just like he screwed the democrats on Immigration Reform and hes done it repeatedly. Why do you deal with that guy . You go im not dealing with you, donald trump, ill tell you what, ill talk to Mitch Mcconnell, you stay out of the way because youve lied to me repeatedly. You keep moving the goalpost. Im not wasting my time with you. Yeah, but hes the president of the United States. Thats the problem. You cant just say im not dealing with you. He has to sign legislation. I didnt is why now, elise, it is between Mitch Mcconnell and nancy pelosi. And Mitch Mcconnell knows that and john thune knows that and republicans in the senate know that because donald trump has reacted irrationally for so long. My response to what john was talking with you can argue politically that donald trump looks like hes trying to negotiate whereas the democrats arent, youre saying that can be trumps argument now, but what hes laying the groundwork to to declare a a state of emergency because of this dire threat on the bored arder, firs allowing three weeks and then blaming it on politics, while he might actually have this expansive authority of the executive, how much has he weakened his legal position, look he always does, simply by opening his mouth. But, mika, here again, again, heres the day trader. And hes got Lindsey Graham poor Lindsey Graham. He was wandering around in circles just going whats my name . Who am i . Why is he doing it . Hello, where am i . You have the chairman of the Senate Judiciary committee that is encouraging donald trump to unconstitutionally seize power from the legislative branch, power that he does not have. So here, mika, again is donald trump the day trader, donald trump the guy that end up embarrassing Mitch Mcconnell, donald trump, the guy that ends up embarrassing john thune, donald trump, who embarrasses the senate, and corey gardner, who might actually like to win in 2020. Hes going to declare the emergency, the Supreme Court will overturn it as unconstitutional. You take everything that donald trump has said, you take everything that donald trump has done, you take the outlays of money over the last two years, you take when the republicans had control of congress, you take the statistics of the Border Crossings over the past 15 years, you take the drugs flowing into the United States, coming through 90 through legal ports of entry, the Supreme Court will look at this and laugh and probably overturn it 81, 90 and guess what . Then he and Lindsey Graham look like people who were trying to seize illicit control for the executive branch by donald trump. Its all a losing end game. And then theres this. When you think about the threat assessment hearing where the intel chiefs put out their got information on what are the biggest threats facing this nation, the Trump Administration is planning another surge in the number of u. S. Troops, wait for it, wait for it, stationed along the southern border with mexico, something that was not mentioned at all during that hearing. Thats according to the House Armed Services Committee Chairman adam smith, who revealed the uptick in a letter to acting defense secretary patrick asian hapat patrick shanahan. More than 3,500 additional troops will be heading to the border starting in the middle of this month to build and reinforce about 160 miles of barbed or razor wire. Weve also learned that the u. S. Border patrol agents made the largest fentanyl drug bust in history this weekend. It happened at an arizona port of entry. Officers found nearly 650 pounds of Illegal Drugs inside a tractor trailer being driven into the u. S. By a mexican national. Willie, two points. Well handle the second story first, good for them, great job. What does this prove . They all say they need more funding at legal ports of entry. They dont need a gold wall with trump brand across the top of it. They need more money at these legal ports of entry to stop where the real drugs come into the United States that kill americans. And then going back again to the story about sending troops to the border. More troops are going to be in the border than in syria. Thats nuts. An issue that every one of our intel chiefs and now the pentagon is saying could lead to isis resurging and once again rebuilding their caliphate in syria within the next six months. First of all, that seizureate the border was huge. That would have killed a lot of people. It did come through a port of entry. Thats where all the research and Analysis Shows 90 of those drugs are coming in, not through random places along the border. But you put those two stories side by side, 3,500 more troops down to the mexico border, the president wants the 2,000 troops we have in syria out of there. Theres something wrong with that when our threat assessment talks explicitly that syria could be the place where isis reconstitutes itself and says nothing about along the border. Still ahead, were going to get a live report from the pentagon that says isis could regain syria within a year. And more on the interview where he claims the presidency is one of the greatest losers of all times. First heres bill karins with a check on the forecast. Reporter temperatures have rebounded dramatically in the midwest but its still cold in areas of the northeast. We still have wind chill advisories and warnings, negative 13 at binghamton,ing in ti negative 8 in burlington. Even minneapolis at n, even neg 13 is a will tlot better. It begins in texas all the way up to montana. Were going to be 50 in montana today. That doesnt happen that often in the middle of the winter. Still chilly chicago to new york. This weekend the warm pacific air continues, you go from negative 6 to 60 degrees on saturday and that warmth spreads all the way to the east. Theres a chance that new york city could be 60 on tuesday. A big storm coming into california late tonight, all day saturday, could get as much as 4 to 7 inches of rain in Southern California in the mountains and that could mean flooding in the areas flooded. Airlines flooded. Think about all the double miles you could be earning. loud holy moley thats a lot of miles shhhhh whats in your wallet . Shhhhh because they let me to customize my insurance, and as a fitness junkie, i customize everything. Like my bike and my calves. Liberty mutual customizes your Car Insurance so you only pay for what you need. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. That life of the party look. Walk it off look. One more mile look. Reply all look. Own your look with fewer lines. 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Im trying to understand Donald Trumps board of directors, that being well call them the republican senators and the Republican Leaders in the house, who sit and they watch this man, their ceo,lets just put it in a format that youre used to, a ceo who in november had the worst shellacking in the history republicans had the worst shellacking ever. If you just look at vote total in the history of america for any midterm election, they lost by more than any other party ever, they lost more seats than at any time since watergate. Then this ceo decides hes going to double down on that strategy. Lets remember, the strategy remember the strategy going into that election was the fake caravans, the fake border crisis, the fake need to send troops done to the border, right . It failed historically. This is like from cocacola to new coke, right . Thats exactly what i was going to say. Except now were moving from new coke. It would be as if the board of directors in atlanta, georgia for cocacola said, and forgive me for saying it this morning, hey, you know what, new coke didnt work so were going to add cat urine to it. I mean come on. Joe joe no. Its that bad for republicans. Until now hes going to double down and, no willie mika, help. Hes going to talk about cat urine this morning. No, get this. Its the worst its ever been in history, the worst law since watergate, hes doubling down on the strategy and now his answer is and this is where our cat part comes in, hes going to oh, my god. No, no, hes going to continue but now hes going to violate the United States constitution, right, and hes going to have the Supreme Court most likely overturn his decision unanimously. This is a board of directors that i mean, they got to step in to save themselves. Now you go ahead. Ive given you enough to work with. If you cant work with that, i cant help you. Donnie, go. You stole my new coke analo y analogy. Im going to get the new coke with special cat urine in a minute. Ive already got the ad in my head. Heres my pitch. I know the wall, i know the new coke didnt work this time, but i want to bring in fluffy, okay. Now fluffy, when you mix fluffy and fluffys urine with coke, thats going to work, guys, trust me. And that is about where we are. It would be like bringing back the wall now and say not only are we going to have the wall, were going to embroider the wall. Thats going to make the difference here. I go back and it seems like a thin response and a cheap shot and youve got nothing else to say, hes insane. We sit here as foof peopive peo there, there are two smart people there, two smart people there and you try to explain it i bring up an important point. Youve known him for several decades, mika and i have known him for a decade, reverend al has known him for several decades, and he says you always knew he was a con man. These decisions that hes making and hes made i would suggest over the past two years are selfdestructive. Politically it is the equivalent of selfharm. Thats why i say, joe, hes lost it. Because where is the end game for donald trump . You know, we are used to him manipulating, maneuvering for his own selfinterest, but when i say hes lost it, i dont mean they should bring the white jackets in yet, even though i do wonder whether he really sees caravans in the middle of the night in the residence at the white house, but i am saying theres no end game there for him because hes not winning and hes deluding himself that hes winning politically while people are suffering. So even if you excuse his insensitivity to the suffering of people, which no president of the United States should do, i dont even seep where where he hes helping to build the brand or the business or whatever he is seeking for donald trump. Thats where im saying hes lost it. I mean, when youre sitting around trying to put perfume on urine, theres something that you are missing. God. I think we started a theme. The brand hes killing is the Republican Party. Forget selfdestruction. Where this nets out, hes destroying the party period. I just want to point out before we move on, joe, as you were in your feline analogy, off camera, the right reverend al sharpton whispered a prayer for you. I did. Joe and i pray together often, you just dont know it. They do. Joe, you said he had a terrible november, right, 62 million votes cast for democrats, which means the democrats only need 4, 5, 6 million more votes to win in 2020, which means heres the rationa rationale. He had one play book. No one thought he could win in 2016 and he won. All he has to go on from now to 2020 is if i gin up the base, if i stir up conservative voters and whites who havent graduated from high school, maybe i can draw an inside straight and win again. This is not his field. He did something unprecedented and what goes in his head when things are bad is he says i did this, no one thought i could, im just going to keep doing it and maybe it will work again because i dont know what else to do. So, john, this is actually ive said it time and again, the greatest danger for any president entering the white house on that first day, not just in president but every president , i said it of barack obama actually, you could say it of jimmy carter, when all you hear for two years, three years, five years is that you can never be elected president of the United States, jimmy carter, you cant be elected president of the United States, youre a peanut farmer. Barack obama, youre middle names hussein, you can never be elected. Donald trump, youre an idiot, youre a reality testimony v ho tv host and then you walk through those gates and you were right and the rest of the world was wrong, then you are right, john, there are times often where you go back and you spend the next several years thinking im the smartest guy in this room. Im the president , theyre not, all these smart guys, all these smart women told me for five years i had no chance to ever be elected president of the United States. Where are they . Theyre outside the gates, im inside the gates. So i do think that that may be an explanation to some degree but you look at bill clinton, who nobody said bill clinton could win, he got flashed in 94. What did he do . He immediately responded and figured out how to keep republicans back on their heels for the next several years. That is possibly the most maybe likely scenario. Theres also you didnt want to win. You won and you find yourself cornered by one Vladimir Putin and everything you do is dictated from abroad. Could be. Its only a thought. Well get to the pentagon report after a quick break. Well be right back. A quick bre. Well be right back. Sometimes, the pressures of todays world can make it tough to take care of yourself. But natures bounty has innovative ways to help you maintain balance and help keep you active and wellrested. Because hey, tomorrows coming up fast. Natures bounty. Because youre better off healthy. Now im gonna tell my momma that im a traveller im gonna follow the sun now im gonna tell my momma that im a traveller transitions™ light under control™ i get to select my room from the floor plan. Free wifi. And the price match guarantee. So with hilton there is no catch. Yeah the only catch is im never leaving. No im serious, i live here now. Book at hilton. Com and get the hilton price match guarantee. Now to that new pentagon report that details the consequences of President Trumps planned withdrawal of u. S. Troops from syria. According to two u. S. Officials familiar with the draft of that report, without continued military pressure, isis could regain its territory in syria within six to 12 months. In addition, isis is intend on reconstituting a fiscphysica physical caliphate. Lets bring in courtney kube. Its good to see you. This is why secretary mattis resigned effectively, he didnt say is explicitly, but that was the word inside, he could not stand by and watch the withdrawal from syria. Now with this new report, what are the odds that President Trump changes his mind . Very low, if at all. I think right now what theyre looking at for the syria withdrawal is its going to be over the course of the next few months. If everything continues at pace, all the troops will be out by the spring or so. Whats important about this report, its not surprising that isis would try to reconstitute. They started out as a guerrilla organization, theyve moved back into that place, we heard that in the worldwide threat assessment this week, defense officials have been warning about that for some time that theyll likely go underground and try to resurge. Whats particularly interesting here is this report says without continued pressure. That would be pressure from the u. S. Military, from coalition, from Syrian Democratic forces. Without that pressure, there are areas that are ungoverned in syria and in iraq where the syrian and Iraqi Government just wont be able to handle an isis resurgence. They wont have the resources or really the interest in stopping them from retaking ground there. And essentially Building Back some sort of a caliphate. Not on the level that we saw in mosul and raqqa in the early days when they were able to overtake these large towns but being able to regain territory in and of itself, especially if they can do it within a matter of month zpls. What are you hearing from plan beners about being able to rebuild in iraq . Nothing specific. One thing that weve seen is i like to call them the movers, the additional u. S. Troops have moved into syria to start taking out equipment that will ultimately lead to u. S. Troops leaving as well. So the number of u. S. Troops in syria is actually up to 3,000, which is the highest number weve seen or known about, they havent always been transparent about the total force there but thats the highest weve seen since they went into syria several years ago. Thing about question now is will the u. S. Continue an air presence there after troops are gone on the ground. Thats been a huge part of this campaign. The Syrian Democratic forces, which is a largely Kurdish Fighting force on the ground, theyre the ones who are really pushing, slogging out the miles theyre in syria, they are reliant on a u. S. Air presence to help them, you know, break way, to help them forge a path against isis, especially in these last few miles. Isis is really down to this tiny little triangle in the middle Euphrates River valley of land theyre holding, but theyre really reliant on u. S. Air power. If theres no u. S. Presence on the ground there, it really opens up the u. S. To a lot of liability to conduct air strikes if theyre relying on a Partner Force on the ground to call them in. Just in the last three days, the president has heard that the isis is a threat from the heads of the intel agencies, now from this pentagon report and from a vote in the senate 6823 that says isis remains a threat in syria and afghanistan and will if we withdraw our troops from there. Its always good talking to you. Joining us now, National Political reporter for axios, jonathan swan. Youre looking at tuesdays state of the union address. Whats the president going to focus on when he finally gets up there after a delay . President trump, his advisers have been telling people his speech will be uplifting. Thats in the eye of the beholder. I dont know if that will be carnage january 17. I expect hell pick a big fight over Border Security because thats been the issue hes privately most animated and hes publicly projecting that. Trump has been in his phone calls in the morning and nighttime with advisers and friends, hes been asking how they think the government shut double play is playing for him politically and asking what he should do about wisconsin, pennsylvania and michigan. Of course those are three sthats delivered in the presidency in 2016 but they turned on him in 2018. So i wouldnt be surprised if theyre calibrating messages to try and win back those voters that they lost. I got to ask you about another note you guys are looking at. The concerns before 2020, as he gets on the phone and taubes to people outside the white house. Theyre saying joe biden poses the biggest threat to his presidency. Trumps political advisers and others that he seeks political advice from have long thought joe biden would be the most challenging because they see biden as the candidate that is most likely to take from trump that he won in 2016. Whenever i read something that trump is worried about a certain candidate, it doesnt quite ring true to my own reporting bus trump privately has the same bluster that he does publicly. In any of my reporter, people have neff said expressed concern or an awareness that he has a vulnerability. It may have happened but just not in high reporting. It looks like the president is going to get anothering about name democratic challenger in the 2020 race. Well tell you about that coming up. Still ahead, did Rod Rosenstein tell Donald Trumps attorneys that the president is not a target in the Mueller Probe . The president s latest claims about the russia investigation when morning joe comes right back. Morning joe comes right back welcome to fowler, indiana. One of the windiest places in america. And home to three bp wind farms. In the offchance the wind ever stops blowing here. The lights can keep on shining. Thanks to our natural gas. A smart partner to renewable energy. Its always ready when needed. Or. Not. At bp, we see possibilities everywhere. To help the world keep advancing. Be right back. With moderate to severe Crohns Disease, i was there, just not always where i needed to be. Is she alright . I hope so. So i talked to my doctor about humira. I learned humira is for people who still have symptoms of Crohns Disease after trying other medications. And the majority of people on humira saw significant symptom relief and many achieved remission in as little as 4 weeks. Humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. Serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened; as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. Before treatment, get tested for tb. Tell your doctor if youve been to areas where certain fungal infections are common, and if youve had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flulike symptoms or sores. Dont start humira if you have an infection. Be there for you, and them. Ask your gastroenterologist about humira. With humira, remission is possible. Friends, i am a candidate for the presidency of the United States. My candidacy stands for truth. Im sure you have been disappointed as i have been by the retreat from truth, the sudden change of policy positions on the part of even more courageous candidates, they feel the need to curry favor from special Interest Groups that continue to impoverish our lives and distort our policies, but do i not. I am responsible only to myself and to the people. That was Shirley Chisholm talking about her 1972 historic president ial campaign. She ended up taking 152 delegates to the democratic convention. She served in the house from 1969 to 1983 where she was a fierce advocate for women, who she continues to inspire with lawmakers like Kamala Harris and alexandria ocasiocortez paying trip utili tribute to her. New york will erect a statue in her honor near where she grew up in brooklyn, new york. Reverend al, shirley was the person you chose to speak about on this first day of black history month. Tell us why . I think Shirley Chisholm embodies a lot of what were seeing on the Political Landscape today. She was the first africanamerican woman to run for president , the first africanamerican woman elected in the congress. I was honored i was 17 years old and i was one of the youth organizers for a president ial campaign. What people dont understand, she not only fought against the antiwoman, sexe eses esest mo mo monogomist views. She deserves a place in history because she taught women, she taught black, she taught the nation that you do not bow or cowher to people that look down on you because of your sex or because of your race. Shirley told us to know our value, even before mika did. Mika wrote it but shirley said it. Thats so amazing. Lets talk about another woman last week who was inspired by Shirley Chisholm and her launch for the presidency, Kamala Harris, right . I think that i could only think that shirley, as well as i got to know miss c is what we would call her because i was a kid, was looking down proud and look at where Kamala Harris having 20,000 people at her announcement of all races, she has picked up that mantle and going forward. Where it goes and how far it goes i dont know. But it is only a confirmation of that seed that shirley planted in 1972 is still growing and no one is laughing, no one is shunning her. Shirley chisholm took the hits like Jackie Robinson, whose 100th birthday was yesterday. She was the Jackie Robinson of black women and were going to see if Kamala Harris is willie mays. John podhoretz. I remember her. There were a lot of interesting urban politicians in the 70s who did not conform to standard issue labels and positions and shirley was one of these people who transcended, while she was very much a representative of both her gender and her race, she was a formidable person in her own right, somebody without needing them. She was smart, she was incredibly focused when she made these appearances that i saw on tv in new york, and there were urban city politicians all over the country in the 70s who had this quality. You just didnt put them in a box and say, well, shes for this group and hes for that group. They were more interesting than that. And something that our politics lacks now. And people seem much more homogenized now than this were. You brought of Kamala Harris. We may hear from another big candidate sometime today, cory booker, elizabeth warren, we have all these people and theyre all calling you before they get into the race and asking for your advice. What are you telling them about running against donald trump . I think what they have to do is the first thing i ask all of them is why do you want to be president . Dont go by your political strategy, go by your vision. You have to give america a vision, which is the opposite of what trump is doing. Dont try to outtrump trump. Give as you vision, give us something to drive toward to bring us out of this kind of atmosphere that were in now where people are going day by day wondering what the country stands for and whether were going to survive it. Thats the advice i give them. Joe biden spoke at our king breakfast last week, i think he may run. But i think whoever gives the country a vision because this president has not been able to do it. You have a president that at noon represents one thing, at 6 00 he represents the opposite. The bible says the people perish without a vision. You cant just be antitrump. Doesnt tell me what youre against, tell me what youre for and how i can get there. John podhoretz, thanks for being on, great conversation reverend. Coming up, the president says everyone should read their complete testimony but did the president read their complete testimony . Plus the president said shutting down the government set the table for his next move on border funding and it looking more and more like that will be an Emergency Declaration. More an Emergency Declaration om, andl these great perks. I got to select my room from the floor plan. Very nice. I know, im good at picking stuff. Free wifi. Laptop by the pool is a bold choice. And the price match guarantee. How do you know all of this . Are you like some magical hilton fairy . Its just here on the hilton app. Just available to the public, so. Book at hilton. Com and get the hilton price match guarantee. If you find a lower rate, we match it and give you 25 off that stay. New aveeno® cracked skintell you cica ointment. 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So ditch the old way of selling your car and say hello to the new way. At carvana. Now im gonna tell my momma that im a traveller im gonna follow the sun now im gonna tell my momma that im a traveller im gonna follow the sun transitions™ light under control™ transitions™ one hougot it. P order . Ran out of ink and i have a big meeting today. And 2 boxes of twizzlers. Yeah, uh. For the team. The team . Gooo team. Order online pickup in an hour. Hurry and get 20 off with coupon at Office Depot Officemax a snowy washington, d. C. This morning. Welcome back to morning joe. It is friday, february 1st. Along with joe, willie and me we have donny deutsch, former aide to the george w. Bush white house, elise jordan and president of the National Action network, reverend al sharpton, political write are fr for the york times, Nick Confessore and Eugene Robinson is with us as well. Senator cory booker of new jersey is entering the growing 2020 primary candidate field. I believe we can build a country where no one is forgotten, no one is left behind, where parents can tut food on the table with their good paying jobs with good benefits, where our criminal Justice System keeps us safe instead of shuffling more children into cages and coffins, where we see the faces of our leaders on television and feel pride, not shame. It is not a matter of can we, its a matter of do we have the collective will, the american will. I believe we do. Together we will channel our common pain back into our common purpose. Together, america, we will rise. Im cory booker and im running for president of the United States of america. So hes in, fully in. No exploratory committee, no dipping your toe in, hes fully in, joe. Reverend al, hes called you and asked us your thoughts. Why dont you give the rest of us your thoughts about what we should be looking for as cory booker becomes the 473rd person to decide that theyre going to seek the democratic nomination for president in 2020, a very valuable, valuable nomination because i think most would suggest right now that whoever wins that wins the presidency. I think that he should not be underestimated. Corey ive known a while. Corey fought his way into being a rhodes scholar, went to oxford where no one thought he could do that given his background. He came and when he returned to the states, he went and lived in newark, lived in the projects, ran for the city council, won. Ran for mayor against the established order, who beat him. He came back again and beat the opponents, became mayor and kept living in the projects still to this day. So he has a story to tell of how he fought from the bottom and kept going. He knows the people on the ground. I think hes going to be a very interesting candidate. Hes very bright, hes very charismatic, hes hard working. I think its going to be a real battle and i think that is what the Democratic Party is going to need. Gene robinson, for most of your professional career and life, most of my professional career and life, most of al sharptons career and life, running for president was a white mans game. It was a big news story, a woman thinking of running for president , a black man is talking about running for president but of course he could never win. Well, we start 2020 with elizabeth warren, with Kamala Harris, with cory booker and actually it seems pretty darn normal. You look at of course kyrsten gillibrand, this is quite a change in landscape for america and for american politics. It sure is. You know, all president s so far except barack obama have been white men. White men are definitely in the minority of the Democratic Candidates who have announced so far, all 473 of them. It will be 474 soon. You know, somebody else will jump in. You know, its a reflection of the changing country, the changing Democratic Party and the question for cory booker is what lane is he going to be in. We have an increasingly crowded progressive lane in the democratic field so far. There are others who might jump in, like joe biden, who would occupy a different lane. Its going to be a fascinating and were going to have to staff up just to cover it, just to keep track of the democrat being candidates. Its going to be fascinating. Let them all fight it out. I think its good for the party. It will be a good definitional moment for the Democratic Party as it looks towards, and youre right, what ought to be a victory. I think most democrats agree with what Gene Robinson said at the end, its time to have a fight for the nomination, lets get out there, put our ideas out there and see who has worked best, where you effectively had a coronation of Hillary Clinton. Yes, its good to have all these people in, but if youre cory booker, if youre Kamala Harris, if youre elizabeth warren, how do you separate yourself . How do you make yourself different from the others . I think the answer is that you have to be authentic. Part of what people are looking for is authenticity. So you cant choose a lane, you have to be what lane you already have been in, otherwise theyre going to go in your background and say thats not who you really are. Thi i think that people who are running are going to be defined by who theyve been, not by how they cast they sefs now. I talk to kids today, back in the day donnie and i can tell things, they can google while youre talking to them and say thats not what you said 20 years ago. He has to go same lane. And thats the person who can win as they are. When i look at coreys tape, to me that was just 101. Thats an issue that thats apple pie, thats for the people. Its about a vision. Donald trump had a very clear vision. Hes been very consistent, its make America White again, we know the hate he plays on. I dont think its going to be about vision. I think its going to be about strength and comfort food. The personal brand people dont vote on issues. I think right now youre going to need the strength. In is what i love about biden. Youre going to need the strength but youre also going to need comfort. Biden is both of them. Theres one other person that could blow the whole field up, i dont know if shes ever interested, Michelle Obama. She is not interested. Other than her, the strength and comfort is joe biden. Joe biden and Kamala Harris as Vice President , wow. That could be a great ticket. I dont think Michelle Obama is interested. I think any combination would be interesting. I agree with you on strength but i still want vision, even if i have a strong person, i want to know where theyre going to bring me. I was struck how vague that announcement was. Its his first run obviously. This is a politician with a very fascinating personal story, not at all reflected in any way in that video. Trumps announcement for president in june 2015, hate it or love it, had a lot more policy content than that announcement. You knew exactly what donald trump was going to run on and now he governed on it. I cant really tell from his video what his differentiation is, what hes going to run on. Im sorry, cory booker is going to meet with reporters so we may here more. Thats the first blush introduce. Willie, great point. I didnt have a problem with the video. I thought it was nice and we only showed you a shorter version of it so you guys can go online and take a look at the long version. I think the bigger issue is watching him come face to face with reporters and answering questions as to what his message would be. Elise, i have my gut is that this is another great add into a long list of really interesting candidates who have story that hopefully with cory as well match their message, which we didnt have last time or we didnt have as many and we have a coronation last time and our candidate, i speak for the democrats, i know you dont, did not have a message. Im looking at all those folks and i see story and message to most every face we just put up. And youre going to have an election, a primary process where the grass roots voters are going to decide who prevails. That, indeed, as you noted was the problem last goround. Also i think that competency is going to be a very important trait that voters are judging in this election, especially in the aftermath of the longest Government Shutdown in american history. Donald trump really managed to have a lot of success claiming that he was competent but his administration has shown anything but and that they are unable to execute the very basics in running the government and running a Foreign Policy quite frankly. So i think that looking at the track record of leadership and of what these various candidates have actually been able to do and how they have effected change is going to be very importa important. I think Foreign Policy, what their vision is, what their track records and abilities are. I dont even think we can believe some of well need someone in there who knows what he or she is doing. To moo, and i pray to god, ref rent al, to the people who are going to be deciding who is the next president of the United States, competency matters. Yes, i, like you, i want the vision. Because without vision, the people are lost. I dont want a fancy slogan, i dont want a guy or a woman who thinks one thing in the morning and then says Something Else the next day, but we have for some time weve been electing leaders that really didnt know how washington, d. C. Worked. That really didnt know about the give and take, that werent up to the give and take, that didnt understand what well, lets just say a what bill clinton and what l. B. J. And what Ronald Reagan understood, that sometimes you had to roll up your sleeves, you have had to get dirty and you had to talk to people who werent on your side. You had to learn how to count the votes. And so vision is so important but i just wanted to follow up and have you underline it because i know you know it as well as anybody. We need somebody that knows how to make washington, d. C. Work again. No doubt about it. The vision is the first step, but if you cannot execute the vision and manage the government while you are moving toward that, you will not achieve the bible says that prayer without works is they need someone that has the hope and the vision but the managerial skills that you know how to make washington, dont just make me feel good, maybe me do good, be good and be better. We have not seen that in this administration. We dont need a continuation of that, having a leftist or progressive version of incompetence is not progress. Yeah, it doesnt work. And nick con physicalor, you bring up a really good point, too, generalities are arent going to work this year. You have to have a vision, you need to tell people where youre going to go. I think its really interesting, theres almost like a sliding scale if you look at the top four or five people in the race right now. If you look at the senators who are in the race right now, youve got elizabeth warren, we know what she believes in, we where she stands, shes lived her life fighting that fight for a long time. Kamala harris with her announcement, she made it very clear, who she there are obviously going to be battles that it was and also, lets move to cory booker and gillibrand. Can you take that down. Weve seen it enough. Thank you. On cory booker, were not exactly sure where he stands. Weve kidded around at times about him running out of burning buildings with a kitten in one hand and, you know, tweeting about the kitten with his phone in the other hand. Hes not as defined. And then you take someone like kirstjen gillibrand, its going to be a rocky road. She made the transformation from a conservative democrat from duchess county new york to a more democratic senator representing the entire state. Its fine how the trump era has sort of washed away all sins of the past for a lot of democrats. But its factually described Kirsten Gillibrand who had an a rating from the nra. Shell have to defend that. So i think were going to see as we get past the nice part of the primary, as candidates come out and have to differentiate, kind of less of the happy talk and more differentiation. Im su i think the most critical thing, if you think about the 7 or 8 swing voters in the suburbs i think the emotional decision will come down to one rational thought, whos going to beat trump. Thats the mechanism. Thats why i still coming back to biden. We can all all we want about advice be a and policies and issue. That is the driving force. Got to get that off the table. I think that kind of trumps no pun intended, any other logical discussion and i think that is the litmus test and thats why i think biden is so far ahead. I dont think we know. This is what i wonder about joe biden and i said it about Hillary Clinton when she was at 60 and people who hate me and hate mika right now because they were such hillary supporters back in 2016, i mean, very few people but im still getting it on twitter, they forget what a champion i was of Hillary Clinton in 2008 and how much i like her personally and ive always liked her personally. And i still like her personally, but she probably doesnt like me personally. Thats okay. I like her, i still want to write a book about two 2008 book true grit. I said something before the 2016 campaign that may apply to joe biden, which is Hillary Clinton was always more always more she was always more attractive as a potential president ial candidate than as a president ial candidate. And im not so sure we dont have the same thing with joe biden. You can go back and see the times that joe bidens run for president of the United States before. Its been tough. Joe biden ran a hell of a race in 2008. He was great in the debates. He never moved the needle because he was running against history. In 2020, thats 12 years later, he still may be running against history. His time may have just passed. We dont know that. But i do know that theres this thought that joe boyden i love joe. Mika loves joe. I have to say its if he gets into that race, mika,ies going to have to stit it like everybody else. Im not so sure that jazz is in addition to, quote, a lot of wall already being were finishing up design on the most important area, the rio frand area and others. We are building a lot of wall. Well bring in cal perry, who recently returned from a trip what is that . We are building a wall. Honestly, its amazing. Sflits disturbing that he just keeps regressing. No, and he has his cabinet secretary saying we want wall when theyre testifying. Its strange. Plus, the raid on roger stones home means we have may have wait a lot longer for bob muellers final report. Didnt whitaker while he was sweating profusely say it was all over . Our next guest says the public needs to know about it. Senator stabenow joins us ahead on morning joe s ahead on morning joe way i was made. It nourishes and strengthens my joints for the longterm. Osteo biflex; find our coupon in sundays paper. It nourishes and strengthens my joint for the long term. I was going to go online to n t. Rowe price experts go beyond the numbers to examine to n Investment Opportunities firsthand, like biotech. Because your investments deserve the full story. T. Rowe price invest with confidence. A Business Owner always goes beyond what people expect. Thats why we built the nations largest gigspeed network along with complete reliability. Then went beyond. Beyond clumsy dialsins and pins. To onetouch conference calls. Beyond traditional tv. To tv on any device. Beyond lowres surveillance video. To Crystal Clear hd video monitoring from anywhere. Gigfueled apps that exceed expectations. Comcast business. Beyond fast. As nancy pelosi said this morning theres not going to be wall in this deal but she did say she would be open to other physical barriers, would you accept that . No, because if theres no wall, it doesnt work. Shes just playing games. If you go toity wanna and you take down that wall, you will have so many people coming into our country, hell be begging for a wall. Shell be begging for a wall. She said, mr. President , please, please give us a wall. Thats the president of the United States in the oval office yesterday. Cal, you are just back from the rio grand,valley. The president said the border wall is under construction, and boy, have agot a story for you 4 b2 g, this is from funding from last year, the 1. 5 wl billion for Border Security. So the Trump Administration is building wall. There will be huge gaps in this wall. One of these story is tiny Little Church right on the regrope grand wifr and that stuff and praying for the light in this chapel. Government wants to seize this Frontier Land for its wall. What does it man to be a small chapter on the front river . It is sweet. Its spreed. Go coop capital. And when you look at that map on paper, it makes sense, put the wall long the levy, right . The problem is. You must see migrants come through here. Sure, sure. I looked in the bark and there in the dark were a bunch of fellas from guatemala. They asked if i could take them to down. I said i would love to but if i get caughting ill be in more trouble than you do. A fella said me if thats what the church teaches, im going to sr with more happen hennings here in the reio grand valley than anywhere else along the worder, couples is trust overhead. That must be a unique position to be in. You can emergency there. Look at those guys. You think theyre looking at us . . Its only me. And theyre right here. Right rind the chech . Be like many of his trips to the border, it was quick, a photoop, a listening he hasnt met with any border share and im talking about from san diego to brownsville pb a job made all the more complicated by the proposition of a wall. When they need services from Law Enforcement, they need services from fire department, medical emergency, it just adds more time and its just not fair. What do you make of the chapel . Its very peaceful. So to build a wall on that chapel is just not the right thing to do. Whats it like living here . People say we need a wall for safety. I really dont think so. We lived here so many years and its nice and peaceful. And ive never had a fear that somebodys going to pop out and hurt me. Is this a safe place to live here . Arent we pranged one of the safest cities in there would be a big 150foot road where they could go can be the spirit youll atmosphere. As the Trump Administration makes parts of mexico again, father roy is not exaggerating when he talks about what that wall is going to look like. This is from the u. S. Government. Roads, fencing, vehicle barriers, heres the response from the catholic church, just to show what you were setting up for for. This could be a Supreme Court battle at some point. Willie, this is shaping up to be a Long Court Battle about the identity of this country. So, cal, has the government exclis italy threatened to use imminent domain, what happens . Can they survive that . No, they wont survive the and if the survey goes well what theyre doing is taking sections of federally owned last, and perhaps the press will be using it hear. Great report down along the border. Thank you so much. Thank you. Lets bring in michigan senator democrat debbie stabenow. Lets begin the concerning right there. By the way, ityou know, at one point you were for portions of a wall fencing, whatever. And youre has this become about something theres more people leaving they about why it doesnt make sense to a lot of people. But is it also about who we are at this point building this sort of thing that says stay out . Yes. Well, mika, its great to be back with you. And this has become really a political symbol for the president more than anything else. And i have supported fencing in the past. We did a major fencing act in 2006. We also know theres very elaborate tunnels under those fences, including places where they have generators and electricity and so on. So were now 13 years later and weve got to look at what we need to keep us safe now. When willy was talking about eminent domain, ive been down to texas and met can farmers. Weve got ranchers along the border us the roo grant and because the government is coming at their land with eminent dough maybe. We could be putting people out joe biden, chineses are going to lose you talk about detroit, ive got the largest Border Crossing at the northern border in detroit. And the majority of what we hear from Border Security, the majority of threats are drugs and terrorists going through ports of entry. So lets be smart and be safe by doing the right thing for the american people. But hes at this point digging in and the possibility of a National Emergency, what do you do in a negotiation like this . Right. Well, at this point one of the things im really glad to see is that house and Senate Republicans and republicans are really working together in a bipartisan basis on the and i have confidence in them. So they will come up with something that is smart and means sense and its mcmcconnells job to make sure we will have a vote on that. I believe we will have enough votes to probably overturn a veto. I think theres strong bipartisan support for doing the right thing to keep us safe. Which is different than what the president s talking about. Senator, Nick Confessore. Im curious about your opinion here. Are we fighting it over an actual walloff lusly democrats have voted for fences and walls and repairs and security. What exactly is this fight about at this point . Well, i think its both, nick, i really do. Of course its a symbol and its also the practical reality of billions of dollars this that the president wants, thoo in and, you know, im concerned if the president does a information emergency, wheres he going to get the money . Because one of the biggest threats right now coming in from the north is down the slaint laerns see way into the sue locks up in morning michigan. Those and maybe theyre taking funding from our certainly it goes to his view of what america should be. Gene. Senator, it looks like we may be heading that way, though, the Emergency Declaration. Will sta how will the senate react in the house . As potential i guess plaintiffs in some sort of law or what will you do . I think there plb theyll be put together, but im sure that there would be pluin order to take away Critical Infrastructure and National Security projects in michigan, im certainly going to use everything possibility to try to step that because there are very serious, important and economic security. And if he is threatening those for his senator, your colleague senator, pb are introducing a bill that would streamline muellers report and take away the dpengs 250u8ly being pnl there would be enough vote to pass it. For house, if and were making sure the Mueller Investigation is protected to make sure it is open and transparent to the public when he releases that report. The issue has been that leader mcconnell has not been willing to bring it to the floor for a vote. So im hopeful that this time he will be willing to do that because its incredibly important. Every day more comes out, every day were watching what has fully stran and i think that makes you the last democrat candidate running for president at this point. What do you mean not running . I was going to ask you, your party need michigan back. Why are you blessing of riches in our people who are so bright and so smart and ive been saying for some time that the first president ial debate needs to be at a caucus lunch. I mule tie that every single one wants it give pichl want to raise wages and brin bik be. Those guiding values are what bring us together. Its going to be exciting to see how this goes forward. Senator debbie stabenow, always great to have you on the show. Thank you very much. Coming up, President Trump says he loves his job but he also calls it one of the great losers of alltime. We explain in a ahead on morning joe. Ead on morning joe. I used to book my hotel room on those travel sites but there was always a catch. Like somehow you wind up getting less. 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Earlier we played for you what the president said about border wall funding during his interview with the new york times. Here are some of the other headlines from that sitdown. He claims that hes not a target of the special counsels investigation into russian meddling in the 2016 election. Telling the times that Rod Rosenstein told his lawyers hes not a target in the investigation. And asked about the separate investigation of Michael Cohen by federal prosecutors in new york, he said i dont know about that. Neither rosenstein nor mueller has said hes a target. However, the president sent three tweets between 10 p. M. And 11 30 last night dekracrying th investigation, quote, this witch hunt must end. And he tells the times oup that the presidency is a loser in terms of money. Quote, i have lost massive amounts of money doing this job. This is not the money. This is one of the great losers of all time. You know, fortunately i dont know need the money. 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This is the new wave, and whoever doesnt get on, i think they would be left behind. Just one more way we go beyond at t. Right now get fast, reliable internet and add wifi pro for a low price. Comcast business. Beyond fast. Live pictures of the mercedesbenz stadium in georgia where i think somethings going on there this weekend. Yes, there is. Georgia will be a big center of attention over the next few days. Stacey abrams will be giving the democratic response to the state of the union next week, but before that, weve got the super bowl. Joining us now democratic mayor of atlanta, great to have you on the show this morning kiesha lance bottoms. Thank you for having me. So is the city ready for the super bowl . We are more than ready. This has been two years of preparation. We are coordinating with over 40 Law Enforcement agencies between federal, state and local agencies and now its just about preparation, prayer and a lot of tylenol to get us through the week. But theres a lot of energy and excitement in the city. That was the question i was going to ask, you touched on it. Obviously in simpler days, being awarded a super bowl for a city would be pretty easy. You have the big parade, you get ready, the vendors are all ready to make their money, but now it actually is you constantly have to worry about threats to the city, threats to the people going to the super bowl. How does a city like atlanta prepare for that . Well, like i said, weve been preparing for over two weve ben preparing for over two years now and we arent strangers to hosting big events. We started off the the big with the International College football championship game. Next year well host the final four. So we are the first and only city to have hosted three consecutive events, Sports Events of this magnitude. So its you know, theres a saying if you stay ready you dont have to get ready and weve been getting ready since 2016. Weve stayed ready to bie able. I lived in atlanta. Atlanta always does a great job. Theres been some controversy over the performers before the game. Maroon 5 pass been hearing from it. Even the great Gladys Knight is getting some grief because of the way nfl has treated Colin Kaepernick. The argument he shouldnt participate. And where do you come down on that . Well, as it relates to Gladys Knight, she was very active in the Civil Rights Movement so i will not begin to question what her Decision Making is at this point in her career. But what i can say is this. Is whatever our opinions are about Colin Colin Kaepernick an his position is, a game is coming to our city and a super bowl will be plabe played regar. Atlanta as engaged this in a way i didnt expect when i was sworn in as mayor. We were at a park in one of our underserved communities where there was a massive renovation for playing space for this park. Its about a legacy for our communities and certainly the nfl has its stance, Colin Kaepernick has his stance and wherever people may land, the game is still happening in the city. And we had dupree whos done a city of concerts all week in the city of atlanta and i think theres certainly appropriate for us to have the conversation and the debate, but the city still had to host this big game. At important question, weve got big boy performing. Does andre come out for a full forecast in atlanta . Wouldnt that by amazing to have him come out . I certainly hope hell shope up. Can you make that happen . Its going to be a great show. Nice to talk to you. Cory booker is declared as a new member of this growing group thats running for president. Do you have any early favorites and what is the most important thing to you that a candidate would have to have right now . What im excited about is that we have a very qualified diverse field of people seeking to become president of the United States. And we cant we cant take for granted that we wonill have qualified president. Im looking for someone who really speaks to who we are as america. For me, before im mayor, im a mother to four children and im most concerned about what the future is and what this country will be for my children. And so im looking for a candidate that can obviously speak to Foreign Policy but also speak to the important domestic issues that are so that we live with each and every day. Mayor, we just got over a pretty rough Gubernatorial Campaign in the state of georgia. Stacey abrams will be delivering the response to the state of the union address. But how are things moving forward in the state of georgia with a governor who a lot of people ran a pretty ugly race and had some people questioning the validity of some of the moves you made toward victory of secretary of state. In this country there are elections and often times we see our candidates run to their base to get elected and then you have to govern and thats where im looking to see what happens with our state. How will Governor Kemp govern . I can tell you, this week on a very small scale we had a dress rehearsal for a snowstorm. The coordination between the city and the state was fantastic. Hes been very responsive to the city but i certainly understand the concerns with the election. I think we all share in these concerns but i do hope that he will govern with integrity and i dont have any reasons to think that he will not at this point. All right. Thank you so much. Thank you. As a native of atlanta. Thank you. Tortured life long falcons fan, its exciting that the super bowl, just like the olympics, just like we had the national championship. I think we need to get a know your value event down in atlanta sometime soon. That would be exciting. We would love to have you. We look forward to hosting you here. Im so on it. Ill be in touch. Thank you very much for being on this morning, mayor. EuGene Robinson, your new column in the Washington Post is entitled the scariest thing about trumps tweets. What is the scariest things about them . Theres so much that talk about there. Theyre insane. Every once in a while just step back, mika and realize this is the most powerful man in the world and you know, most mornings and a lot of evenings he is spewing just absolute nonsense. You know, like a like a crazy person standing on a street corner. It is really amazing and we get we become numb to it. Every once in a while step back and say this is not normal and this is really alarmsing. When i hear reporters saying i dont read his tweets anymore, thats not okay. No its not okay. Youre just counting them out. You cant. Hes the president. Gene, thank you very much. Still ahead, the announcement expected from the Trump Administration in just a short time that has experts fearing another new clear arms race. Plus, the president says the bipartisan border wall talks are happening right now are a waste of time. Morning joe is coming right back. Ime. Morning joe is coming right back here we go discover. I like your card, but im absolutely not paying an annual fee. Discover has no annual fees. Really . Yeah. We just dont believe in them. Oh nice. You would not believe how long ive been rehearsing that. No annual fee on any card. Only from discover. Woman this is your wakeup call. If you have moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis, month after month, the clock is ticking on irreversible joint damage. Ongoing pain and stiffness are signs of joint erosion. Humira can help stop the clock. Prescribed for 15 years, humira targets and blocks a source of inflammation that contributes to joint pain and irreversible damage. 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He told reporters that he would declare a National State of emergency if theres no funding for his border wall. Here is where the House Speaker stand and where he stands exactly two weeks before the funding deadline. Theres not going to be any wall money in the legislation. Theres a place for enhanced fencing, fencing would work, let them have that discussion. Could have done it differently, no, not really. I think what by having the shutdown weve set the table for where we are now. If i didnt do the shutdown, people wouldnt know, they wouldnt understand the subject. I would do that. Nancy pelosi said this morning that theres not going to be a wall in the deal but she did say shed be open to other physical bare yriersbarriers. Would you do that . No, if theres no wall it doesnt work. Shes just playing games. If you go to tee wijuana and ta down that wall so many people will come into our country and she would be begging for a wall. She would say please, please give us a wall. I think nancy pelosi is you are the hurting our country very badly by what shes doing and ultimately i think ive set the table. They understand, peter. F they didnt know what was going on at the southern border. Now they know. They had no idea the amount of crimes, the drugs the amount of Human Trafficking that can be stopped. Ive set the table, ive set the stage for doing what im going to do. Im going to wait till the 15th. I think its a waste of time. Willie, he keeps saying he set the table. He keeps saying he set this upperfectly. He has cooked the Republican Party, their numbers collapsed. Nobody believes him anymore. Hes completely this has been a disaster for the past three weeks and here we go. Part two of it and if you were a republican on capitol hill, youve got to be sitting there thinking my god, how low is he going to drag this party . Joe, i talked to some people on capitol hill, republicans yesterday, they are furious that the president is taking this line. Theyve said it again. Shutdowns are bad. Please, mr. President , stay on the sideline, let us work with nancy pelosi. We can figure something out. Ill read her quote again. Theres not going to be any wall money in the legislation. That first bid, that first offer that democrats put out, not only did it not have any wall funding it didnt mention a wall, didnt mention a barrier of any kind although pelosi did say we can do a fence, if you want to call it a wall go ahead. President trump tweeting all morning yesterday. Yeah. And whats so weird is again, he just goes back and forth, if youre a republican on capitol hill youve got to be absolutely furious because now suddenly he said maybe its not a wall, maybe its slats. Now its a wall is a wall and maybe its because he likes that wall rhymes with fall. It is the it is continued bizarred behavior. Child like. But again the group of people that end up losing are the republicans. And the new rationale for the shutdown. We shut down the government for 35 days and kept paychecks away from federal employees because i wanted to educate people about the problem at the border. Now they understand it and now theyll be on my side. Unfortunately for him the polls show just the opposite. He was tweeting about 13 times yesterday before noon. He wrote a wall is a wall, more troops being sent to the southern border. The wall is getting done one way or the other. All the evidence, proof and caravans coming. The president also tweeted three separate caravans marching to our borders. And the democrat responded these caravans, do you see them in the room with you right now . Oh, my god. It appears the president has learned exactly nothing from 35 days of the shutdown. He thinks it worked for him. You know, you listen to him this morning and its so easy to normalize this insanity. One fell swoop said i educate people about this problem so thats why i had to do this where in effect we know statistically its the opposite. Its a 20year low for immigration. There are no duct taped women there and then at the same time saying nancy pelosi is going to beg for a wall. Came out of his mouth. Nancy pelosi is going to beg for this wall. He completely contradicts his intelligence heads on north korea, on isis and the senate rebukes him on afghanistan and syria and so hes in an alternate reality. We laugh about it because it is so unsettling but if we had not lived through 25 months of it wow would say hes out of his mind. Hes literally out of his mind. Its unhinged. Its absurd. So joe, you, like donnie, like mika, like myself weve all known donald trump for a long time. Youve probably known him longer than most of us. I mean, do you recognize the guy, even if even if there were things about him that you found abhorrent, do you recognize the guy that you knew for 20 years sitzing in these pictures rambling around talking in circles . He just handed the worst political defeat that any republican president has been handed since water gate and he does this shutdown which destroys his poll numbers even more and here he is again, going in the bay czar loop. Hes actually dee titeriorat and we always knew he was a salesman and play the conman most of his career, but now youve got to where hes bizarre. To actually win the republicans trying to blame the democrats for the shutdown, he snatches ownership back yesterday by saying no, i did it so we could teach the American Public the issue. So the whole argument that this was the democrats being inflexible caused the shutdown he just ripped up in shreds. But the second part is the insensitivity. He would feign like he had some sensitivity. To say i reset the table when he literally took the food off of federal workers tables is really adding insult to injury here. I cant believe hed even discuss a table when youre talking about federal workers that were literally out pawning their valuables so they could put food on the table. This is not even a conmans kind of way of operating. This is a man thats lost it. Yeah, everything he does, is selfdestructive. He ends up doing things that hurt himself and the Republican Party and at some point you do wonder when do enough Republican Senate tors say, you know what . Before our Approval Rating goes down to 14 , maybe we should go over and have an intervention. But we did actually see that on the senate floor yesterday. I guess that was a start. Speaking out against his insane policies in syria and afghanistan. Okay. So im going to make a quick case for what trump is doing, not that im a supporter of it. But you guys are all talking about the shutdown and hes moving beyond the shutdown. What hes setting the table for is the declaration of the National Emergency that will allow him to shift money over to at least make a cosmetic show of building the wall. It is possible that nancy pelosi is overplaying her hand which is to say in december, they all agreed to a 5. 7 billion outlay for the wall. He shuts the government down because he decides its not enough and he loses the shutdown and shes saying to him, ears my offer, nothing. You will swallow it. As the year goes by, and im not sure that, you know, the public thinks that the wall is insane. It may be that its not valuable or its not wor thu worth, but she is not negotiating with him on the wall. She is saying zero, nothing and that is a change in her opinion from december. Now, i dont think that that necessarily means that shes going to lose this again, but it does allow him to make the claim that democrats are not serious about Border Security so i have to declare the National Emergency. But john, nobodys saying sh nobody is saying that any wall is insane. Well, pelosi did said the wall is immoral. She handed him that. That was an unforced error. Donald trumps view of a huge beautiful wall from sea to shining sea is not only immoral. More importantly its stupid and its ineffective and if you talk to anybody on the border they will tell you it tthat its stu. Its not who we are on so many levels. Lets not pretend that boar tarrant coun poor donald trump is trying to find somebody to negotiate him in good faith. He said to diane fifienstein, y guys figure this out. Ill sign whatever you figure out. They came up with a plan that included a wall and daca. Then they sent the Vice President to the hill. And the Vice President said ill tell you what, you say 1. 7, we say this. And at some point you go, you know what, fool me once shame on you and fool me twice, dont be fooled again. Enough is enough. Thats where i think Mitch Mcconnell did Something Interesting with the syria and afghanistan resolution. If you think ha that is happening in isolation, that is foolish. Trump screwed mcconnell in february. Just like he screwed the immigrants on Immigration Reform. You know what, youre not dealing with you, donald trump. Ill talk to Mitch Mcconnell, you stay out of the way because youve lied to me repeatedly. Im not wasting my time with you. But he oos the president ofe United States. You cant make a deal. He has to sign legislation. I mean, i understand which is why now it is between Mitch Mcconnell and nan sis pelosi and mcconnell knows that and the republicans know that because donald trump has acted so irrationally for so long. I guess my response to what john was talking about would be that you know x you can argue politically that donald trump looks like he is trying to negotiate where as the democrats arent, so thats youre saying that can be trumps argument now, but his actual, what hes laying the ground work for to declare a state of emergency because of this dire threat on the border, first allowing three weeks and then you know, blaming it on politics as the reason not to declare a National Emergency, while he might actually have the authority, the ex pension of the authority of the executive. How much has he weakened his legal position simply by opening his mouth . Still ahead. Well get to the point gone report warning the president against withdrawing troops from syria saying it could bring isis back to power in as early as six months. But first a check on the forecast. We have a lot going on this weekend. A huge storm in california. A little snow causing problems in d. C. A light coating of snow and this is the beginning of the warmer air and its creating a coating on all the untreated surfaces. Give yourself extra time this morning. Still have some windchill advisories out there. Not half has bad as its been the last couple of days. Negative one in new york city and negative 15 in fargo. Its still cold. The blue is where the snow is so light snow is covering the ground through ohio, pittsburgh, West Virginia and heres that snow and nothing in new york city or southern new england. Lets talk about our february thaw. 59 in nebraska, 50 in montana and our poor friends appreciate. Youll be negative 20 by monday. D. C. 55 and new york city at 60 by the time we get to tuesday. The problem we have is a big storm in california. Up to 6 feet of snow in the mountains. Well have to watch out for mud slides and debris flows and hopefully we wont get too much damage from that storm. The worst of the cold is behind us. Still a negative one but it will feel so much better mondays and tuesday. Youre watching morning joe. Well be right back. Ure watchi well be right back. This simple banana peel represents a bold idea a way to create energy from household trash. It not only saves about 80 in carbon emissions. It helps reduce landfill waste. Thats why bp is partnering with a California Company fulcrum bioenergy. To turn garbage into jet fuel. Because we cant let any good ideas go to waste. At bp, we see possibilities everywhere. To help the world keep advancing. A Business Owner always goes beyond what people expect. Thats why we built the nations largest gigspeed network along with complete reliability. Then went beyond. Beyond clumsy dialsins and pins. To onetouch conference calls. Beyond traditional tv. To tv on any device. Beyond lowres surveillance video. To Crystal Clear hd video monitoring from anywhere. Gigfueled apps that exceed expectations. Comcast business. Beyond fast. Now to that new pentagon report that details the consequences of President Trumps planned withdrawal of u. S. Troops from syria. According to two u. S. Officials without continued military pressure isis would regain its territory in syria within six to t 12 months. Lets bring in nbc news National Security and military reporter. This is why defense secretary mattis resigned, that was the word inside. The president announced it just over a month ago. Now this with new report what the odds that President Trump changes his mind . Very low if at all. I mean, i think you know, right now what theyre looking at for the syria withdrawal its going to be over the course of the next few months. If everything continues apace all u. S. Troops will be out by mid spring or so. With the last of the troops leaving from the south which is right along the border with jordan. Whats important about this report, you know, its not surprising that isis would try to reconstitute. They started as a guerrilla organization. Theyve moved back into place. Officials have been warning about that for some time that theyll likely go underground and try to resurge. But whats interesting is this report saying without continued pressure so that would be pressure from the u. S. Military, from coalition, without that pressure, there are areas that are ungoverned in syria and in iraq where the government, the Syrian Government and the Iraqi Government just wont be able to handle an isis resurgence. They wont have the resources or the interest in stopping them from retaking ground there. And you know, essentially, you know, Building Back some sort of a cal fate, not in a level that we saw in mosul and iraq in the early days but being able to regain territory in and of itself would be amazing if they can do it in a matter of months. What are you hearing from pentagon sources and planners about the ability to prosecute the war on isis and syria from iraq . Well, very little right now. I mean, theyre not talking a lot about the specifics of any kind of a withdrawal and then what would happen after the u. S. Troops leave. One thing that weve seen is the i like to call them the movers, you know, the additional u. S. Troops have moved into syria to start taking out equipment that will ultimately lead to u. S. Troops leaving as well. So the number of u. S. Troops in syria is up to 3,000 which is the highest number weve ever seen. They havent always been tra transparent with the total force there. You know, the big question now is, will the u. S. Continue some sort of an air presence there after troops are gone on the ground. Thats been a huge part of this campaign is the u. S. And the Coalition Air pressure against isis. The Syrian Democratic forces which is a largely Kurdish Fighting force on the ground, theyre the ones who are really pushing, sludging out the miles there on the ground in syria. They really are reliant on a u. S. Air presence to help them, you know, break way, to help them forge a path against isis. Especially in these last few miles. Isis has really down to this tiny little triangle in the valley of land that theyre holding but theyre reliant on u. S. Air power. What would be hard is after theres any if theres no u. S. Presence on the ground there it really opens the u. S. To a lot of liability to conduct air strikes if theyre relying on a Partner Force on the ground to call them in. Just in the last three days the president has heard that isis is a threat from the heads of the intel agencies, now from this pentagon report and a vote from the senate led by Mitch Mcconnell that says isis remains a threat in syria and afghanistan and will if we withdraw our troops from there. Coming up on morning joe, were following several developing stories this morning. Well see if the Government Shutdown at an impact there and the trump add min station is set to announce that the u. S. Will exit the treaty that took the coal out of the u. S. Knnuclear arms race. What that means for security ahead on morning joe. I tell everyone to take the ancestrydna test if you want to get the most details about your family history. My pie chart showed that im from all over europe, but then it got super specific. I learned my people came from a small region in poland and even a little bit of the history about why they might have migrated during that time. Those migration patterns are more than just lines on a map, theyre really your familys story. I cant wait to see what im going to discover next. 20 million members have connected to a deeper family story. Order your kit at ancestry. Com. To a deeper family story. Thats why i take osteo biflex to keep me moving the way i was made to. It nourishes and strengthens my joints for the longterm. Osteo biflex; find our coupon in sundays paper. Ed gets copays as lowlily go to as zero dollars on Medicare Part d prescriptions. Ed gets labels clear as day. And, lily. Lily gets anything she wants. Ed knows he could just have us deliver his prescriptions. But whats the fun in that . Switch to cvs pharmacy. At any moment secretary of state mike pompeo is going to deliver remarks from the state department. Hes expected to announce that the u. S. Is withdrawing from the intermediate range facility. It prevents the United States and russia from possessing missil missiles. The u. S. Has accused russia of violate the treaty for years and last december gave moscow 60 days to return to compliance and that deadline is tomorrow. Joining us now, National Political reporter for nbc news, josh letterman. Youre covering this. Whats your new reporting on it and is this okay . I mean, what will be the ramifications of this pullout . Well, mika, its somewhat of a darned if you do, darned if you dont. Everybody agrees that russia is violating this treaty. The americans agree, nato has been saying that and not a whole lot of hope of bringing them back into compliance but on the other hand, a lot of questions as to whether the solution to that has been to rip up this treaty. They have not really exhausted all diplomatic attempts and options to bring russia back into compliance. With pompeo plans to say is theres a six month window before the u. S. Is out in which russia could come back compliance. Well ask you to comment on the substance of whats happening here because you did work in the state department but also doesnt this run against the grain of the narrative that President Trump is working hand and glove with Vladimir Putin in russia. This is not something that russia likes. Well, john bolton must be rejoicing that its a treaty he gets to exit but this has been one of the most successful arms control treaties in the history of the world. I think were completely in our grounds to withdraw from it because russia isnt in compliance but at the same time it would be nice if we could have forced russia to comply and that is where to your point donald trump has really touted his improved relations with russia in his personal relationship with Vladimir Putin but it certainly hasnt paid dif tends to actual tangible results thats helped our security. This is a straightforward thing that putin could give to the president. Right . On poll city to make it look as if theres a relationship there that goes both ways. But instead what putin is doing what he always does which is he trying to expand his sphere of influence and this is part of it. All right. Josh, thank you very much. Nbc newss josh ledderman, thank you. Well go live to the New York Stock Exchange and the Labor Department to see how the Government Shutdown might have impacted last months job growth. Morning joe is back in a moment. K in a moment that rocking chair would look great in our new house. Ahh, new house, eh . Well, you should definitely see how geico could help you save on homeowners insurance. Nice tip. Ill give you two bucks for the chair. Two . thats a victorian antique all right, how much for the recliner, then . Wait wait. How did that get out here . That is definitely not for sale is this a yard sale . If its in the yard then its. For sale. Oh, here we go. Geico. Its easy to switch and save on homeowners and renters insurance. Now im gonna tell my momma that im a traveller im gonna follow the sun now im gonna tell my momma that im a traveller transitions™ light under control™ always a catch. Like somehow you wind up getting less. But now that i book at hilton. Com, and i get all these great perks. I got to select my room from the floor plan. Very nice. I know, im good at picking stuff. Free wifi. Laptop by the pool is a bold choice. And the price match guarantee. How do you know all of this . Are you like some magical hilton fairy . Its just here on the hilton app. Just available to the public, so. Book at hilton. Com and get the hilton price match guarantee. If you find a lower rate, we match it and give you 25 off that stay. If you find a lower rate, we match it and give you and if you feel, like i feel baby then come on, oh come on lets get it on applebees. Now thats eatin good in the neighborhood. Not long ago, ronda started here. And then, more jobs began to appear. These techs in a lab. This builder in a hardhat. The welders and electricians who do all of that. The diner staffed up cause they all needed lunch. Teachers. Doctors. Jobs grew a bunch. What started with one job spread all around. Because each job in energy creates many more in this town. Energy lives here. We have breaking Economic News with the release of the monthly jobs report. Nbc news correspondent is outside the department of labor and sarah eisen at the nork sto New York Stock Exchange. What do the numbers show . An up tick in the Unemployment Rate. We do see the shutdown stamped in various places. It is a tale of two jobs reports on private sector growth. You do see a lot of strength in the economy. The economy added 304,000 jobs for the month of january. Thats quite an increase. Now, they did have to revise downward the numbers for december, but when you look at the growth it is across a lot of sectors. You have mining, an uptick there. Construction up almost 56,000 jobs. Health care was up across the sector. The private economy is strong, but we do see the effects of the Government Shutdown. You had a lot of people looking for work, you had some parttime people, part of the government, their numbers are up a half a million. All in all, it is a tale of two job reports but we see the beginning of the effects of the Government Shutdown and well see whether or not the economy can find those jobs and replace on the contractor side. Amusement, gambling and recreation, those jobs up 32,000. So keep on gambling. Okay. I guess so. Thanks for the advice. Czar sarah, break it down for us. They mean that the economy is going strong and that actually employers arent phased by the shutdown. The increase by almost 300,000 in the private payroll, so while the government was shutdown the companies did not hesitate to hire. Economists were looking for a number below 200,000 jobs. We got one above 300,000 and if you look at all of last year and we are looking at a bumper year for job creation, the average per month was in the twos. This number is higher than the average for every month of last year. So no, i would say no effect really in terms of the confidence hit in terms of hiring for private employers as a result of the shutdown. The other thing that stands out, participation continues to rise. More people entering the labor force, especially women. Thats been a huge story lately. Participation rate is 62. 4 which is the highest number since 2013. Thats a good sign more people entering the labor force. That 4 Unemployment Rate does reflect that people are furloughed so they are temporarily unemployed. So i would write that off as a temporary effect there. And then on the lack of wage growth,. 1 was a little disappointing in terms of people wanting more pay but it reflects a healthy jobs environment and the market is going to like this report, because what it signals is theres still a lot of demand for workers. People are hiring, theyre not getting nervous but were not getting inflation so the Federal Reserve doesnt need to tighten interest rates. Thats a recipe for a rally on wall street. And mika, you know, if im trump, im like hey, we could do another shutdown. It didnt hurt the economy. No problem. You know, the thing that the republicans have to remember because it is a pretty good Overall Economic picture is that, you know, going back, i worked on the Clinton Campaign its always the my is stupid but except in november it wasnt. We had a better economy in november before the shutdown and trump lost the popular vote as far as the congressional seats by 9 across the country. Thats the biggest deficit since reagan years, so we have to look at the economy in a very, very different way in this upcoming election even if its still going well. It wont though. Every indicator says although still strong, by the time we get to november youll start to see the early signs of recession. No matter what happens in the election, the congress will not be about it. I see those numbers and i should stop tweeting for the next month and my ratings will go up by 10 points, but the reality is that the performance of the economy is getting untethered from politics which is a strange thing, but it has a lot to do with people being in bubbles and polarized. So people on trumps Team Everything is going good and you saw the the same with clinton and president obama, it is a strange moment in american politics when you can have a president whos this unpopular with this kind of growth. We dont have a tweet yet from the president but he was bu busy tweeting about syria and afghanistan. You can imagine a different kind of president leaning in to these two things that the economy is going strong and im delivering on a promise that you said as a country you wanted for 15 years now which is to get out of these wars overseas. Well, look, the president cant tweet on these numbers for another hour. There is a general prohibition about not talks about where sensitive market moving data. If we do hear from the president it will be at 9 30. Hes played a little fast loose with jobnumbers. You see strong private sector growth but this is just a senate sh snapshot of the economy. Everyone including the contractors are going to go back to work. I think well see that in next months report. I think something that could be interesting to watch from here is how the president handles his trade negotiations with china. So he has used jay powell the chairman of the Federal Reserve and put the blame for the very turbulent few months we had in the market at the end of last year, worst december since is Great Depression because the Federal Reserve was raising interest rates. The fed is on hold. It says its not going to do that anymore so if there is more turbulence in the market i think the trade war becomes a much bigger issue and well start to see if thats going to impact because were hearing about corporations that its having an impact on the china business. I think this puts more pressure on the president to deal with chi china. Its friday and you know what that means. Youre getting ready for sunday. Who do you have on . Well, its super bowl sunday so think of my game as pregame coverage beginning early many the morning. By guest on sunday is amy adams who was nominated for her sixth oscar nomination. Hes nominated for best actor, the movie is nominated in vice and shes just a fun person to talk to. Six nominations, grew up in a big mormon family in colorado, worked her way through dinner theater in colorado and minnesota and still kind of projects being a little uncomfortable with fame and being a movie star. Just a regular kind of down to earth actor. Speaking of a lists, nobody is getting more begets than the sunday today show. No joke. Amy adams. Its fun to go and hang out with willie. Willie is getting honestly the best booking on any morning tv. We love amy adams, i cant wait to watch that. Shes great. We last saw him feeding federal workers and now the chef is turning his attention to Small Businesses to make a difference. He joins us next on morning joe. Building a better bank starts with looking at something old, and saying, really . So capital one is building something completely new. Capital one cafes. Inviting places with people here to help you, not sell you. And savings and checking accounts with no fees or minimums. Because thats how it should be. You can open one from right here or anywhere in 5 minutes. Seriously, 5 minutes. This is banking reimagined. Whats in your wallet . When did you see the sign . When i needed to jumpstart sales. Build attendance for an event. Help people find their way. 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The worlds most valuable and Innovative Tech Companies are increasingly looking outside Silicon Valley for spaces to expand. Tesla finished a new factory near reno, nevada. Google opened a new campus in michigan in 2017 and this past novz amazon announced locations for new Head Quarters in Northern Virginia and here in new york city. Were see ago lot of start up success in florida and in puerto rico now as highlighted by our next guest. Aol cofounder steve case and michelin star and Award Winning chef jose andres, hes the founder of ngo world central kitchen. Jose, i want to start with puer married there, i just wanted to thank you for all youve done for that incredible island. Shining a light and helping so many people down there. You are a saint for what youve done down there. Tell us about this tour and what youll i be bringing to puerto rico. Its a relief organization. After hurricanes, we show up and we try to feed the people who are hungry. Always we need to remember that people, they have to look at the future with hope. What is the best way to do that . Is making sure that in the moment of rebuilding, organizations like ours, our ngo, is helping by investing small amounts, for example, in farmers. Its very important that well be stopping the importing of so many of the foods they consume. More than 90 of the foods puerto rico eats is coming from the outside. Were investing in small farms to make sure that puerto rico will be producing the food open t on the island, et cetera. Youve been even going into places like the midwest and helping invest and put capital in there. Whats the idea behind this tour . We did launch this effort almost five years ago. So far, weve been in 38 cities. Weve backed companies. Were seeing entrepreneurs building companies. Most of the jobs are created by startups, young, highgrowth companies. Not by small business, not by big business. Last year, 75 of Venture Capital went to three states, california, new york and massachusetts. Were trying to back the other entrepreneurs. Florida is less than 2 of Venture Capital. So were visiting four cities in florida, orlando, tampa, the space coast, miami. And then well join jose in puerto rico. Really trying to spot light these entrepreneurs. Tell their stories. And try to get more Investment Capital backing thelse startup. Give people more of a sense of hope about the future as opposed to anxiety about the future. How much are you seeing in your travels . All of my Research Points to it kind of in such a grand fashion that young people today, as far as companies they work for, as far as products they buy, they need to know those companies have a conscience and thats any if youre a ceo, you want to create shareholder value, not only because its the right thing, because youre not going to be able to attract young talent unless thats part of your brand dna. A lot of companies focus more open purpo on purpose, on impact. A company in detroit, part of their whole purpose was retraining people who lost their be zwro jobs when the Auto Industry was in decline. Thats part of reason people are excited to be wearing a watch and be customers. Weve also invested in Companies Like sweet dream which has a healthier food earth ethos. Were just trying to make sure those companies are all across the country. Not just in a few places on the coast. Silicon valleys awesome. But there are many other cities in this country that are doing great things in terms of startups. And its really about shining the spotlight on them. And paying attention to other parts of the country which will drive job growth over the long run. I think what youre doing with rise of the rest is terrific. We need to have more of a focus on the middle of the country and from mississippi. What are you doing for places that airporent necessarily flo, the more rural areas . How are you focusing on promoting startup in those areas . Weve been to 38 cities. Some of them are smaller. Some are larmer. Its many states in the middle of the country. Iowa, wisconsin, ohio, pennsylvania. What were trying to do is create the momentum. A lot of these startups want to congregate in the cities. There needs to be some talent density. But that doesnt mean they have to move to new york and california. Maybe columbus, maybe cleveland. Then a broader system builds around them. Part of the reason amazon decided this area wasnt just what was happening in d. C. Itself, what was happening in the surrounding area an hour outside of d. C. This job engine has to start with these cities, but then it moves out from there. Chef andre, im curious about your message for washington. After all the work you did to feed our federal workers, people who work for us in the shutdown with us now barreling potentially towards a second shutdown if no deal is reached. What message do you have for our lawmakers about the consequences that you observed firsthand in washington when the government stops working . The message, when we had more than 12,000 federal work ers a day online, pennsylvania avenue between kongd at white house waiting for a plate of food. I think that speaks volumes. We need to make sure the government doesnt take the federal workers hostage. And they come up with a way to keep all the businesses in place. In this case, we were feeding employees because they were hungry. But thats what were here to do, to try to be investing. You know the best way to invest american dollars, make sure we can be the best for example with small farms all across central america, and all of a sudden people will have something to do in their home countries. And thats a great thing about jose is not just what ohes done, amazing on the humanitarian side. But he is an immigrant entrepreneur. Came here as a cook, a chef. Now has a company with over 2,000 employees. We need to find other joss. Its not just about tech starts. Its all across the economy. The support, the investment, the mentoring to allow them to take their ideas and build significant companies. Steve case i will use this moment to Say Something very quickly. We were not only one kitchen on pennsylvania. We were more than 500 Small Businesses all across 37 states feeding federal workers when our government was not delivering for them. Incredible. Jose andreandres, thank you, an steve case, we really appreciate everything you do. A new president ial candidate, senator cory booker a announced his candidacy this morning. We started the week with Kamala Harris 20,000 person kickoff in oakland. And Howard Schultz defying government to explore an independent bid. Two new books cast the Trump White House in very unfavorable lights. As did the nations leading intelligence officials. The acting attorney general wasnt sweating the details when he claimed mueller would be done soon or he was. We got a report of another secret sitdown. Roger stones arainmeraignment d a ruckus outside federal court. And Michael Cohens testimony got moved behind closed doors. Mitch mcconnell and republicans rebuked trumps pullout from the middle east. The state of the union got rescheduled. As we learned, the president s shutdown cost, 11 billion. But the president is barreling towards another one. Fexa a fixated on a wall. And claiming morgue caravans are just over the horizon. Does anyone see those caravans . Final thoughts . Weve got a lot of democrats candidates. Lets look back a few months ago and see who won in the 2018 election. It was not some of the shiny new toy candidates. It was some of the more traditional candidates. We got to keep our eye on the ball. Elise jordan. Im so just struck by what chef jose was talking about there. That he, you know, threw his Incredible Organization did so much good work feeding federal workers who had done their jobs but the government wasnt paying them and it just reminds me of im reading this history of the Great Depression right now. I cant believe it meant the private sector had to feed our workers. I know, its incredible. You look at everything thats happened this week. Then you remember puerto rico. Separating children. I mean, theres so many things that were trying to keep up with here. And make some sort of context out of. Its only a week. I just want to echo what elise said. I hope the shutdown will teach everyone in this country that the people who work for us, our federal workers, are not bureaucrats, bad people. There are working people who suffer when the government is shut down. I hope we can unwind some of of that rhetoric. The people both parties have used for years and years about how these are bad people. They work for us. Another thing this week, Mitch Mcconnell said my god, do not give them another week off. Dont make voting day a holiday. Good lord, we wouldnt want to help out the federal workers. No way. That does it for us this friday. Stephanie ruhle picks up the coverage right now. Thanks, mika. Im stephanie ruhle. This morning, ive got a lot to cover. Starting with a defiant President Trump getting a wide ranging interview on everything from the Mueller Probe to potential 2020 employees. Plus, why he thinks the shutdown negotiations with Speaker Pelosi are a waste of time. Shes just playing games. Shell be begging for a wall. She will say mr. President , please, please give us a wall. I doubt that. Tr