Transcripts For MSNBCW Morning Joe 20190910

The one thats most annoying i think in our present culture is people saying right at the end of the sciencentence, you know i mean . I dont mean to get off on a small rant at the top of the show is thats annoying. I guess what im saying is i have no annoying verbal ticks. Jonathan la mere, of course our annoying verbal tick right now is the red sox suck, lost again to the yankees last night. Not the red sox themselves, but well just say some of of the decisions they made over the past year when they decided that, well, winning the world series wasnt really all that important to them. Certainly with what they did to the trading deadlines. Happier news last night, we actually had a guy that came out and pitched the opening pitch which actually was actually a better pitch than anything that porcello threw all year. He it was great to see david ortiz again last night in the is his first public appearance since he was shot back in his home, the dominican republic, a few months ago. He had a difficult recovery. You know, weve seen some instagram photos of him recently, but this is the first time out among the masses and at fenway park. You can see the ovation he received. As far as the team, they didnt look good at all this season, joe and mike, its over, its been over for a while and now were dealing with the aftermath of general dave dombrowski, the general manager who helped lead them to a world series title last year but did nothing to improve the bull pen, made a bunch of questionable decisions, seems to have lost support of the manager, ownership and clubhouse. So when you put all that together, i guess it was time for him to go. Mike, a wonderful moment last night. By the way, the red sox players, i loved the team. They were just let down by, you know, dombrowski and everybody else this year without getting a pitcher. Just a great group of guys. But that was a great moment last night, wasnt it . Was a great moment and it was nice to see him out there. Obviously as jonathan indicated, hes back healthy. Throwing the way he always throws. Could never throw left handed, little popsicle throw. Didnt have to. Thats right, youre right, willie. It was a great night. Listen, we know what happened this year, we knew it early on and the dombrowski firing was clearly because the team was upset he seemed not to do anything and did nothing at the trading deadline at the end of the july. But baseball is such a wonderful game that its therapy still being out there each night. I got to say, i was watching last night and, i mean, even knowing that were out of it its so wonderful being able to watch. I was i was already mourning the passing of baseball season because it is. Yeah. It is just such a part of our lives, just even if mika even loves it in the background. Its wonderful. I mean, i could do a James Earl Jones speech from field of dreams right now. But instead, jonathan, im going to ask you to tell us about the rally last night in North Carolina. Over the summer, of course, really the start of a prec precipitous decline for donald trump. North carolina, of course, the place where most commentators said trump led the crowd in what could only be described as fascist chants. Thats what a lot of them are saying, send her back, send her home. What about last night . Was it a calmer affair last night in North Carolina with donald trump . So we were in fayetteville, North Carolina, last night. I was part of the press pool that traveled there to cover the president s rally. It was. We were only about 100 miles from the site of the previous rally in greenville where the racist send her back chants about those four democratic congresswomen of color, in particular omar who was born in somalia, though chants were heard and really set a tone for an ugly year and a half of campaign fought along the lines of race and he divisiveness. We didnt hear that last night. The president did not mention any of those congresswomen so there was no moment for them to start with that chant again. Weve now had a few rallies in a row which we have not heard it. But last nights rally is still potentially an interesting moment for this president because of todays special election in North Carolina where he is trying to push a republican candidate across the finish line to win an open seat there. And its being viewed sort of as a referendum on his political clout right now. The district is part of it is the suburban areas are outside charlotte where he has struggled in the past. Its a seat republicans held for quite some time. The polling indicates its close. And we saw from the president this is the first time in his rally setting where he likes to recent and air his grievances, this is the top end of summer for him when we saw his poll numbers slip and economy slowing cow down. We saw a nonsensical balt over hurricane forecasts. But he largely stuck to the script last night. But he made it clear, he painted a bleak picture for this nation if democrats were to win according to him it would be overrun with crime and poverty and Illegal Immigrants. He made it clear, if you want to keep what we have, you need to keep me ideally in office and ideally send this republican to the house. Before we get to our top news story of the day, willie, you saw a poll that david put out on twitter last night that showed the democrats actually had an advantage in 2018 on Party Identification and it wasnt really even close. Now a year later after the first three democratic debates its even as far as Party Identification, you know, would you support republicans or do you support democrats, its now down the middle. And so much of that is not because of donald trump whose numbers have fallen precipitously, its those debates where democrats are ridiculing obamacare as being too conservative, attacking barack obama on immigration, talking about decriminalizing illegal immigration, talking about giving healthcare plans to Illegal Immigrants, talking about forgiving all debt, medical debt, student debt, 22 trillion in debt as a nation. For a lot of americans this just doesnt add up. Yeah, thats why youve seen joe biden remain where he is, because he hasnt gone into that territory. For all the problems hes had and the mistakes hes made and the misstatements hes made on the campaign trail, he hasnt gone to that place of eliminating privacy insurance and providing healthcare to people who are here undocumented. Thats the central concern. If you let donald trump just do his thing, democrats feel like they can beat him because hes going to bury himself. But they have to be develop careful not to bury themselves in their own debate process. Youre down to ten coming up on thursday and, you know, the democrats will have to look very carefully at the way they behave in the previous two debates. You cannot attack this guy joe biden in the way that theyve done that. You cannot attack barack obama. Thats right. Perhaps the most beloved figure in the Democratic Party in the country at a time when youre trying to defeat donald trump. Yeah, mika, attacking bah brack obama is being too conservative. Yeah. Being too harsh on healthcare and immigration. Most americans remember that barack obama actually helped pass a law that gave coverage to those with preexisting conditions that took care of their older children, that lowers the uninsured in america. They also actually now that donald trump has made such a mess of our immigration policy. Yeah. Remember that under barack obama illegal border crossings were at a 50year low. That is the case. That is the truth. Okay. So if you want more of the same, here are our top news stories this morning. Several bombshell reports reveal that in mid2017 the United States successfully exfiltrated one of its top spies from russia over fears he was in danger of being caught. The New York Times reports that the cias russian informant who was outside of Vladimir Putins inner circle but saw him regularly and had access to highlevel kremlin Decision Making was instrumental. Decision that putin ordered and orchestrated the interference campaign in the 2016 president ial election. The times adds that the source was the governments, quote, best insight into the thinking of and orders from putin and was key to the cias assessment that putin favored trump and personally ordered the hacking of the dnc. Putin later confirmed in a 2018 News Conference in helsinki that the kremlin favored trump. Nbc news has not confirmed that the russian fed the cia information about the russia election interference but for reasons that nbc is withholding, he fits the profile of someone who may have had access to information about putins activities and who would have been recruitable by american intelligence officials. Current and former government officials tell nbc news that a former senior russian official who had access to government secrets is currently living in the Washington Area under u. S. Government protection. Nbc news has not confirmed that this official is the cia asset mentioned in the New York Times and cnn reports, however, to former fbi officials tell nbc news they believe set source referred to in those reports. President trump was asked about the story yesterday. The report today that say that you have mishandled classified information from russia . I know nothing about it. I see the cia responded perfectly. So whatever the cia said is find with me. But i heard they responded perfectly. I know nothing. So, clint, obviously this is an extraordinarily disturbing report. You have the times going a bit further than others suggesting that actually this spy that was so highly placed im sorry, it was cnn who went further that this spy who was placed in putins inner circle was actually pulled out because of fears that donald trump would refeel hr reveal his existence. Others have pulled out because the heat was getting too high with what was in the media and there were concerns about donald trump. But if you go back to i think it was february of 2017, donald trump revealed classified information from an ally in the white house to russias foreign minister and ambassador of the United States. So obviously the prudent move, regardless, given the fact that he was trying so hard to pass along and theres a picture where he pass aid long very sensitive, highly Sensitive Information to the russians in the light of day, in the oval office, suggests that no source in putins inner circle would be safe with this man as commander and chief. Yeah. I wanted to add to that cnn story is what else started may, 2017 . That was the special counsel investigation. I think that is maybe a little bit less discussed in these articles but should be put in context. As soon as you launch an investigation like that we know theres going to be expensive amounts of intelligence thats going to come forward thats almost impossible to mask. What did we see from american congressional leaders . Once the special investigation started, there was discussions of fisas, leaks about all sorts of classified sources, people battling back and forth. Thats spilled out in the public for more than two years. When we look back over the last four to five years, lets look at what putin did if the we talk about 9 11, pearl harbor, he interfered in our election, he helped elevate a candidate of his choosing. He launched a Public Inquiry which has been a quagmire for more than two years, and expunged one of the top sources inside russia, from russia, back to the United States. It will ultimately go down historically as one of the biggest defeats of america, particularly in terms of the intelligence business. And now when you look at it, we have lost allies, weve lost stature around the world. Were not seen as a trusted source. Our intelligence sharing, i dont know who would share with us at this point the way our country as a whole has been operating, the way things have spilled out into the media. And how would you ever recruit a source that could be replaced . This doesnt speak to the taxpayer costs in terms of labor, man hour, resources that have gone into protecting this individual bringing him back out. I think they absolutely made the right decision, but it just is a devastating loss for our country. And, willie, if you look at what our fbi director that donald trump nominated, selected, our cia director, the National Director of intelligence, if you look at the United States military and their intel officials, theyve all warned the president of the United States, all of them, all republican appointees, all confirmed by Mitch Mcconnell senate, they have all warned the president of the United States, including Kirsten Nielsen which when she was still the director of Homeland Security that russia is still interfering in america democracy and we must do something about it. And if you have moscow mitch of the senate pilg killing all bills to protect america from russia interference and a president that denies its existence, what choice do you have but to remove valuable assets from russia . Because whether he is or not, most intelligence officials would have to conclude that is he somehow compromised for not responding to their dire warnings about protecting american democracy. We understand why donald trump wants to deflect from this story, because it cheapens his victory in 2016. The Mitch Mcconnell side of it, the congressional side of it remains more curious to me why they wont take these obvious steps to protect our elections today and Going Forward from here. Clint, this is obviously an extraordinary step to slip a russian asset out of the country, provide protection in the United States. In your experience, what would be the circumstances under which the cia would like and say weve got to get this guy out of here . Was there an immediate threat to you think to this guy . I imagine there i dont know, but i imagine there was not. But when youre looking at the public reporting, you see consistently reports about, hey, everyone went to talk to donald trump and say russia interfered in the election and theres some wobbling about that, right . Right. Theres not trust in the sources. Youre seeing the dossier surface. That has all sorts of sources listed the when you see that you know to russia now internally inside russia is going through all their ranks and start cleaning up messes and assessing people. And the cia, im sure, the cia, fbi, the whole intelligence community, when they saw there was going to be a Major Investigation with a public disclosure, its time to wrap up your sources because thats your last chance to protect them. Now this. New reporting from the New York Times contradicts the president s claim that he has nothing to do with the scottish airport where air force crews have been refueling and staying overnight at his nearby resort, nothing to do with it. The times citing documents obtained from the Scottish Government. Reports that the Trump Organization and trump himself played a direct role in setting up an arrangement between his golf resort in glass could you prestwick airport. The partnership set up in 2014 was meant to provide private air traffic to the region. But part of the agreement accord to the times worked to get Trump Turnberry added to a list of hotels that the airport would routinely send air crews too even though the turnberry resort is 20 miles from the airport, farther away than many other hotels and has higher advertised prices. The times reports the number of such stops by air force planes at prestwick rose from 180 in 2017 to 257 last year and 259 so far this year. The 259 stops this year included 220 overnight stays since october of 2017 records show 917 payments for expenses including fuel at the airport worth a total of over 17 million. Heres the president speaking about the issue yesterday. I havent found out other than when a plane stops at a Massive International airport and gets fuel, i dont own the airport. Every time you find a person landing an airplane within 500 miles of something i own, mike pence as an example, his family lives in doonbeg, ireland, and hes actually told me that he stayed there many years ago. I bought it years ago. But he was there before i bought it i believe, he said, a long time ago. But he was in ireland so he said, you know what ill do . Ill see my family. I didnt know about that. But i can say he has good taste. That is what you call verbal pore ridg poridge. I dont know if thats what you call it but thats what you should call it. Mike, were sitting here going we wonder what saudis are staying at the trump hotel in washington, d. C. Lets go through the records to figure out who through qatar is its the United States air force. Like, we need to look at the United States air force and see how they are now direct i mean, directing millions and millions of dollars trumps way for this airport that actually helps donald trump out, helps helps his business out to a tune of what . What did they say . 17 million. 17 million in refueling. Thats taxpayer money. Its like mike pence decides to go to the other side of ireland in a meeting and what . Take 250 room nights . I dont know if thats the exact number. I thought i read that somewhere. But piling, again, a ton of money into Donald Trumps properties. Yeah. Its a scam. Its the Great American scam from scotland to ireland to pennsylvania avenue. Everywhere this guy touches. And now its the United States air force. You know, joe, it doesnt get a whole lot of chatter on cable and occasionally theres an Important News story like the one that youre just referring to in the times today and other papers. But the level of corruption in this administration from day one. Its unbelievable. Has been epidemic. Epidemic. And, you know, we do cover it, but you just wonder does it resonate out there because its an ongoing affair. Theres stories about who stayed at the hotel on pennsylvania avenue and now this incredibly the worlds most expensive gas station in western scotland. I know. And people just, theyve come to accept it now. Im afraid that people may have become numb to it, but it has to continually be reported. Is totally outrageous. I mean, just step back for a second. Its clearly the United States government in the form of the military should not be doing business at places owned by the president of the United States. Thats a clear conflict of interest and clear appearance of corruption if not actual corruption which it is. And certainly it should never happen in a happen. And any other president , i think, perhaps in our history would have recognized that. This would not be happening under any other administration, yet its routine, its routine and its increasing and its every single day from the hotel to the airport to the golf resorts to maralago to every every way he can put money in his pocket. Every way that donald trump can put money in his pocket from being president hes doing it. And that will be a big part of the story thats eventually written of this corrupt administration, just the level of blatant in your face out in the open corruption that, for some reason, is being tolerated. Yep. And, you know, elise jordan, i dont know that this is going unnoticed by americans. Ive been saying all along that too many people were shocked by what donald trump did in 2016 so they assume hes going to do the same thing in 2020 and shock them. Im not so sure of that since that racist rally, those racist chants of send her back started pup and we saw an uptick in some of his egregious behavior. They consider him a racist. Weve had one story after another how hes enriching himself. In a new abc Washington Post poll just broke showing that his Approval Rating dropped from 44 down to 38 . So its sitting now at 38 . It has been, we talked about this last week, a cruel, cruel political summer for donald trump. And the most remarkable thing, and i do talk to Trump Supporters a good bit, what infuriates them and what infuriates people close to him in the white house is so much of these scars are selfinflicted. He cant get out of his own way. Joe, i dont think that donald trump understands that his for now republican allies on the hill actually really dont like him. He has been their blunt instrument, their means to an end and they have tolerated him as hes doing things that go along with what they want and while the economy is strong. And after this summer of racist ranting, of, you know, just cheerleading a recession practically by his own twitter handle and voters are directly relate, dips in the market of what donald trump is saying and doing on twitter, this has not been a good summer for him. While 38 of people might be okay with the racism, with the tanking of the economy by casual tweet, i think he really did a lot of damage to himself this summer. And then further stories of corruption, whether its the trump hotel in washington to scotland, that does not do anything to help Donald Trumps political for tunes. Absolutely not. Not at all. And again, willie, sitting at 38 this morning down from 44 at the beginning of the summer. I just want to follow up with what elise said. I spoke to a republican insider last night, one of the mopowerf that i know that has quietly remained in the background so their firm could still get business in this age of trump republicanism. And he told me exactly what elise said. He said what donald trump doesnt realize is he is so despised on capitol hill, hes so despised by republican governors across the country and by members of the house personally that its only a matter of time. And this was last night before these numbers came out, that they start planning ahead for post trump washington and pretty soon theyre not going to take the slings and arrows for this guy because its proving to be a losing proposition. And we hear all the same things behind the scenes. We hear all the same things off the record from republicans and others. But we dont hear it in public. We dont hear it on the record. We still dont see republicans in the senate or many in the house who are willing to step out and say the president was wrong when he led those chants. He was wrong to manipulate a weather map for god sake. And this question about the hotel and Everything Else gets to the question of draining the swamp. That was one of the central promises of this campaign and, boy,s that been the opposite of draining the swamp. Filling the newspapers with the stories like we see today, filling his cabinet with people like wilbur ross who according to the New York Times, i know well get to that in a minute, ordered the noaa to come out against the National Weather service. This is not draining the swamp. These are people the president knows running our country and not doing a very good job of it. Maybe they need to drain scotland and ireland, maybe they need drain the moat of the trump goo thats filling up. Thats a dynasty. Listen, you would think that these moves over the actions that this president has taken that were talking about, its the kind of thing that would make republicans, some of them at least, want to vote for an alternative. The democrats either need to give us one, a really a really good one that some republicans on the fence would vote for, or maybe the republicans will come up with a really good candidate for 2020. Maybe we have one. Still ahead on morning joe, the president contradicts his head of customs and Border Protection on what would happen if hurricane victims from the bahamas arrive in the u. S. Without proper documentation. We have new reporting on that. But first lets go right to bill karins with a check on the forecast. Bill. This picture is unimaginable. Good morning, everyone. Were watching quiet things in the tropics. Theres nothing threatening any land areas at least much of this week, thats great news. If youre waking up this morning in wisconsin, youve had a lot of thunderstorms overnight. Now over the top of milwaukee. If youre driving north to chicago could be issues. And also in omaha and des moines. And how about the heat in the south . I know everyones been complaining. You want a little bit of relief. Still feels like 100 to 110. Still feels like the middle of july and were rolling into the middle of september. It will feel like 101 in new orleans, memphis at 104 this afternoon. Then it starts to spread a little bit up through the east coast as we go through augusta, georgia. D. C. Will have another day in the 90s. Philly on thursday. It wont be till the end of the week that we get relief in chicago and st. Louis. Washington, d. C. , youve had your little break, the heat will return along with the humidity during the mid dle of the week. Youre watching morning joe. Well be right back. K. Youre watching morning joe. Well be right back. Johnson johnson is a baby company. 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Call now to get your comcast business 10 minute advantage. Comcast business. Beyond fast. If your life is in jeopardy and youre in the bahamas and you want to get to the United States, youre going to be allowed to come to the United States, right . Whether you have travel documents or not. We have to be very careful. Everybody needs totally proper documentation because look, the bahamas had some tremendous problems with people going to the bahamas that werent supposed to be there. I dont want to allow people that werent supposed to be in the bahamas to come in to the United States, including some very bad people and some very bad gang members and some very, very bad drug dealers. President trump contradicting the acting chief of customs and Border Patrol mark morgan just hours apart when asked if bahamians struggling after Hurricane Dorian are welcome here in the United States. The current death toll standing now at 50. Thousands still trying to evacuate but have been faced with many challenges trying to get into the u. S. Joining us now, julia ainslie who has been covering this story. Good morning. Which is it, are the bahamians fleeing the homes trying to get to the United States, are they welcome here or will they be put through some kind of vet process . The president pointing to unidentified drug dealers. Not sure who hes talking about there. There was this huge discrepancy. There are 1500 survivors that have already been taken into the country. At first it seems will these people be given work thati authorizations, how long can they stay here . And then because of the president saying i dont know if they can come, there was guidance that put out saying they do need travel documents having to contradict their own commissioner who said they could come no matter what. There was a line in there that said port directors can use their own discretion if someone has certain circumstances. But they all have circumstances. Theyre fleeing mass devastation. So at this point, though, they say you do have to have valid travel documents. But officials ive spoken to said it has come up at dhs meetings how will these people find their travel documents in the midst of that . How do you find a passport in that . So the logistics of this from the bahamas to the United States, how do they get here . What happens to them when they do arrive here . Well, there are a number of ways. We have to remember that there are about two Northern Islands that were the most devastated. But there are other places you can leave from the bahamas. There can be flights that are coming into the United States. We saw in one ways there was a f ferry leaving from freeport and gone to florida. They should have gone to nassau. Thats something that had been worked out with other ferries people fleeing the hurricane devastation. In this case they did not do that and these people were forced off the boat. But that was not necessarily customs and Border Protection, it was the boat not knowing where these people were supposed to go along their route. But in that case it just shows the chaos that happens after a devastation like this. People fleeing, they dont have anything, theyre trying to survive. And without a proper message from the United States about whether or not were taking you in, how long you can stay here and what you need to get here, it gets really confusing and it just adds to the chaos. Any evidence, julia, that there are very bad people, very bad gang members and very, very bad drug dealers come through after the hurricane from the bahamas . Theres not evidence that ive heard of or talking to my sources that this is something that has come up as a National Security threat in the meetings. The meetings theyre having right now at dhs are mainly about how they care for these people and vet them, of course, as they come in as they would from any country. But, no, i dont think theyre talking about the big gangs from the bahamas right now. So, julia, if that had happened in the state of florida, we would know that ron desantis, the governor, would be in charge of state efforts and youd have fema and sba and the white house in charge of national efforts. Here, not so far from our shores at all we have a humanitarian crisis. Look at the pictures. Its worse than anything we saw in Hurricane Katrina except for a couple of mississippi towns as far as everything flattened. What can you tell census whus . What is the United States doing . Is there somebody in charge of the american governments efforts to bring relief to the people of the bahamas . Or are they just on their own . Well, there have been u. S. Efforts to provide relief, and that is on going. But i still go back to the fact that 1500 survivors came in just over the weekend. The big question for these people in terms of being able to leave and to come here is whether they get something called temporary protective status. That used to be a given in a situation like this, looking at that devastation. Theres still People Living here who came here from haiti in the 2010 earthquake. These are things we gave to people fleeing ebeal in centbo africa. This has been a common thing the United States has given to people fleeing devastation and theyre able to live here, work here and a lot of times build a community here. In this case because this administration has gone after protected temporary status, this has become into question. Not only will they be able to come here and live here, but will they be able to come here at all . Aid is still ongoing. Its very different if it was florida or within the United States. But i do understand aid is going, its a matter of how do you aid a community that is so devastated and help people who just need to escape to survive. The administrations position is changing moment to moment. Bottom line this morning, if youre leaving the bahamas to come to the United States, will you be let into the country . You need a passport or visa. Lets turn to another story. The New York Times reports that commerce secretary wilber ross threatened to fire political staff at noaa if the agency did not fix its contradiction with President Trumps claim that Hurricane Dorian might hit alabama. The times reports ross called the acting administrator of noaa from greece last friday to instruct him to, quote, fix the agencys perceived contradiction of the president. Tultly l it ultimately led to the noaa issuing a statement which called National Weather service in birmingham inconsistent. They told nbc news ross did not threatsen to fire any noaa staff over forecasting in public statements about Hurricane Dorian. Noaa acting chief scientist Craig Mcclain says hes investigating why the agency backed trumps claims about Hurricane Dorian potentially hitting alabama over its own forecasters. According to an internal email obtained by nbc news, mcclain wrote sunday that an unsigned friday Statement Issued by noaa which defended trumps claim, quote, inappropriately and incorrectly contradicted the National Weather service forecaster. The statement referred to a tweet issued by the National Weather service birmingham, alabama, office last week which pushed back on the president s claim that the state was in the path of the storm. Meanwhile, the director of the National Weather service defended the birmingham forecasters who contradicted trump at the groups annual gathering yesterday. The Birmingham Office has [ inaudible ] to ensure public safety. The same call as all the National Weather Service Offices were working toward at that time. So [ inaudible ] by asking and the birmingham employees that were present to please stand and be recognized. So, jonathan lemire, this is just extraordinary. You have the commerce secretary traveling abroad in greece tending to the companys business calling back to the noaa and saying the National Weather service correctly, by the way, the office in birmingham came out and said, alabama, dont worry, despite what the president tweeted you are not in the path of this storm telling the noaa to direct the National Weather service to fix this mistake. In other words, you might be correct, but you crossed the president so fix it to be incorrect. For a day or two the president s sort of obsession that he was right about this forecast that alabama was in the pamg of this hurricane was treated as an amusing little story, the sharpy on the map and that sort of thing. First of all, you have a government, sort of an unprecedented amount of federal Government Intervention here threatening staffers trying to reverse engineer the data points to prove in some ways the president was correct. And also, you know, using the powers of the government to try to back up whats clearly a false claim. But in this case, for leaning on the national forecast, the Weather Forecast that potentially undermines the credibility of this agency that is giving out warnings to people who would be in the path of a storm. And thats just that crosses the line here that you have people this is an agency that will put out these bulletins that people are relying on to make decisions about their life and their home when theyre in the path of a storm. And now theres going to be an issue can we trust these or are they being pressured to back up what the president is saying over what is true . Certainly that tweet from that National Weather service outpoift outpost in birmingham has fueled a lot of the anger about the forecast and his relentless defensiveness of what he said. We were surprised it didnt come up at the rally last night. He we prior to the rally were in North Carolina. He was meant do inspection of the hurricane damage there on the coast but a major thunderstorm rolled through and we were able to and the president and the press pool we were dprounded on tgrounded on. But this is something that i week later hes obsessed with and it could cost people their jobs. Its getting worse for the president. Of course as the chief scientist said for noaa that were talking about lives that are at risk here. If people stop actually depending on Weather Reports, if Weather Reports get political. The president can call fake news all he wants to and a lot of people dont follow the news day in and day out, i certainly understand that. Theyve got their lives to live, jobs to worry about. Weather reports, most americans follow the Weather Report and they know when the president s lying to them about weather. And gene robinson, i want to show you the rest of the vo from the distrirector of the nationa weather service. When he finished saluting them for doing their jobs, he got a standing ovation from the audience. A clear sign that these people connected with the National Weather service and meteorologists and scientists, theyre not unlike republicans in washington, d. C. , unlike cowardly politicians, theyre not going to be cowed by somebody that insists that they dont believe their lying eyes. Thats right. You know, a couple of things. First, there are a lot of people in the federal government, not just the weather service, but economic forecasters, people who study the demographics of the country, people who study poverty and income and all that stuff, these are they produce numbers that have to be accurate and that they these are experts who do their very best to provide Accurate Information to to the president and to the American People. And the idea that that this scientific information can be distorted because of the whim and the ego of an unbalanced president who can never be wrong in his own head is is outrageous to them. And i think you will see a whole lot more pushback. Weve already seen a lot of pushback, but youll see mo are from inside t more from inside the government. Everybody understands the government. Maybe not everybody wants to follow the twists and turns of the airport near turnberry and how exactly that enriches donald trump and this and that and we can explain it and its a fivestep thing. But everybody understands the weather. Everybody has to deal with the weather. And believe me, everybody in those southeastern states knows how important those National Hurricane center forecasts are and knows how to read those maps. Yeah, they do. All right. Were going to have to take a break. But willie, is julia ainslie still there . Youre darn right she is. Somethings a little different, willie, have you noticed . Maybe you havent, you cant tell, right . I was tipped off earlier this morning but ill let you make the announcement. You were tipped off. Julia, when you were covering the mueller surprise press conference a few months ago i noticed something a little different. You want to talk about that moment . You did, mika. You were probably the most eagle eye observer that day. There was a surprise press conference that Robert Mueller called to the justice department. I ran down there and in the middle of coverage i got pretty sick and had to run down. Yes. The street and got sick in the bushes outside the justice department. Oh my god. And i immediately when i came back to my phone had a text from you that said, are you pregnant . And. Yes. I said yes but dont my parents dont even know yet. Well, mika knew and im expecting a baby girl in january. All right. Oh my gosh, thats so exciting. All right. Yea . You are next. Kasie hunt check, julia on deck. We have that moment, well show it at know your value. Com morning sickness on Live Television and tell your story. Julia, thank you. Thank you. And welcome to the know your value community, well there for you. Appreciate it. Coming up, new polling shows a majority of americans are worried about a recession. What does that mean for President Trump whose biggest argument for reelection has been a Strong Economy . Well dig into the new numbers ahead on morning joe. Into thes ahead on morning joe. We call it the mother standard of care. Its how we care for our Cancer Patients like job. When he was diagnosed with cancer, his team at ctca created a Personalized Care plan to treat his cancer and side effects. So job could continue to work and stay strong for his family. This is how we inspire hope. This is how we heal. We love you, daddy. Good night. I love you guys. Cancer Treatment Centers of america. Appointments available now. Cancer Treatment Centers of america. But in my mind im still 25. Thats why i take osteo biflex, to keep me moving the way i was made to. It nourishes and strengthens my joints for the long term. Osteo biflex now in triple strength plus magnesium. Applebees handcrafted burgers now starting at 7. 99 now thats eatin good in the neighborhood. Now starting at 7. 99 know what more shrimp ith steak and shrimp . And you know what goes great with that shrimp . Steak and unlimited shrimp and this year, with two freshly made sides, youll get more than you imagined. Hurry into outback now for our steak and unlimited shrimp. Outback steakhouse so much more than i could have imagined. And welcome to the know your well dig into the new numbers and welcome to the know your well dig into the new numbers his father was a miner, they were immigrants from italy and somewhere along the way that man changed his name and transformed himself into a successful midcentury american man. He had a whole life that i didnt know anything about. He was just my beloved grandpa. Bring your Family History to life like never before. Get started for free at ancestry. Com an update now on a story weve been covering out of mara lag doe. Its a trial of a Chinese Business woman charged with lying to a secret Service Agent and trespassing at President Trumps Maralago Club was bizarrely diverted yesterday when the defendant told the judge she was wearing brown jail garb because she had not been provided any underwear. Defendants generally wear civilian clothing during trials to avoid prejudice by jurors. After some discussion of over which agency was responsible, 33yearold zhang was taken to a holding cell and was allowed to change into an outfit found in her hotel room after her march arrest. Zhang was arrested after she allegedly lied to get past a secret Service Agent guarding maralago carrying a computer, a hard drive, four cell phones and a thumb drive. President trump was also staying at his resort that weekend but was at his nearby golf club when she arrives. Prosecutors have filed under seal secret evidence that they say has National Security implications. Even though she is not charged with espionage. She is acting as her own attorney during the federal trial and faces up to six years if convicted. Joining us now, state attorney for palm beach county. Dave, what can we glean before this National Security implications about this evidence . What in the world could it be . Well, theres a lot to unpack there. When i heard the case of the missing underwear i thought maybe the suspects would be the infamous underpants nomes from a south park episode. But when it comes to ms. Zhang, think shes more just someone whos a wanna be spy who probably wasnt trained by the Chinese Government. Because when she got into maralago she gave three different explanations as to why she was there. Had she got in she told the golf cart shuttle driver she didnt know where she was going. In her case she may have been just some sort of freelancer looking to sell her photos to the Chinese Government as part of some street intelligence. I mean, if she was a spy she would make Maxwell Smart look like james bond. Shes not obviously a very good one. So, dave, let me ask you the two charges, trespassing and lying to the secret service with a potential penalty of six years. Which of those charges would bring six years for lying to a secret Service Agent or trespassing . Its the lying. Thats the one thats punishable up to five years. The trespass is punishable up to one year. She probably scores a lot less. Shes already served five months in pretrial detention, which would count against any sflns that seis imposed. She may not get any jail time when its all done. This may be part some of sort of amateur operation where the china nez governme Chinese Government is testing us. Back in february there was a College Student from china sentenced to a year when he was caught sniffing around a naval station in key west. Were unsure of whats going on here, but it may be a case of someone who is infatuated with the president , who has spent thousands of dollars traveling around to all his Different Properties and wanted to be somebody back at home. And getting caught as a thats why think shes acting a fool right now in trial, hes obstructing justice in her actions. The issue of the underwear and all these things, she may want to go home as a martyr claiming i didnt get a fair trial, im innocent, i didnt even have a lawyer who represented me. I didnt even have a set of clothes to wear. That may be a better story for her back at home than the reality that she may just be a bumbling wanna be spy. All right. I want to ask about the College Admissions scandal. We havent covered that story in a long time and felicity huffman, the actress faced a sentencing hearing. What what is the type of sentence that she might get . What do you think she should get . And id also like to hear whats ahead for the other actress involved, lori laughlioughlin. Felicity huffman, despite the fact she was the first one to cut a plea deal and remorse, is still facing a month in prison. Thats got to make Lori Loughlin think shes not going to take a plea gooel deal because her behavior was arguably worse. Lorly loughlin and her husband paid out allegedly 500,000 to get letter two daughters into usc. And so its hard to tell what the final sentence would be for both of them, but i think that there needs to be some sort of incarceration for both of them because otherwise this would just encourage future wealthy parents to go ahead and try to bribe their kids into college. Because then the penalty is what . A financial slap on the wrist . And its, in my experience, a state attorney, that the best deterrent for this kierchd conduct is a pair of handcuffs and a jail cell. Thats why i agree with the federal prosecutors when they recommended a month in jail. And in their sentencing memo, ill leave you with this, they said that this was a crime that was predicated on wealth and facilitated by a sense of privilege and the great leveller is incarceration. Its certainly not money. Right. Which that would make no sense, youre right. Dave, thank you so much. Thank you, dave. And eugene robinson, thank you as well. Well be reading your piece in the Washington Post entitled help those suffering in the bahamas. Make sure they have a viable future too. Amen. Coming up, the president s Approval Rating falls as more americans expect the u. S. Economy to fall into a recession. Plus, trump rallies voters in North Carolina ahead of todays special election there that could be a bell weather for 2020. Morning show is back in a moment. Or 2020 morning show is back in a moment Johnson Johnson is a baby company. But were also a company that controls hiv, fights cancer, repairs shattered bones, relieves depression, restores heart rhythms, helps you back from strokes, and keeps you healthy your whole life. From the day youre born we never stop taking care of you. I require no response from you. I require no response from you. I require no response from you, young man. I require no response from you. Get out, man. You will not be oh, my. A look at the chaos in the uk as conservatives followed Prime Minister Boris Johnson in walking out of parliament to chants of shame on you after opposition lawmakers tried to physically block the speaker from standing up and leaving his seat in a move their predecessors also tried some 400 years ago. Welcome back to morning joe. It is tuesday, september 10th. Still with joe, willie and me, we have msnbc contributor mike ba, White House Reporter to the associated press, jonathan lemire, and join the conversation Senior Adviser at move on. Org and msnbc contributor careen jean pierre. And director of domestic policy studies at Stanford University and Research Fellow at hoover institution, great to have you all. Willie, we have to start with parliament. Oh my kbogosh. Its usually been a great show. Its the greatest show on earth right now. The speaker yesterday announced that he was going to be resigning at the end of the term and then yesterday the fact that you had opposition people blocking him and sitting on him practically to stop him from getting up and leaving because parliament cant close until the speaker gets up and walks out, that was enough. But it was so acrimonious. But the big story here is Boris Johnson, kind of cocky fellow, i guess you could say, and it aint bragging as dizzy dean said, if you can do it. Unfortunately for Boris Johnson, he cant do it. He has set the record for ineptitude of premierships in british history. He has lost his first six votes. As they tweeted here it seems easier with cheap seats but now he has lost by losing first six votes of premiership, divided his country and caused his own fwrorth least party and lost the duke of wellington. And my favorite quote out of all of this is one british commentators said that his brother left government because he wanted to spend less time with his family. Thats sbounounds about righ. Hes had six losses in the space two of weeks. Hes only been Prime Minister for seven weeks. An inauspicious beginning. The whole point of his Prime Ministership is brexit and it looks like that october 31st deadline is going to come and go so then what . He looks to be seven weeks in out of options at this point about the b. I was watching that and if this were a movie the director might stop and say youre doing a bit heavy on the british. But it is the best show in global politics, isnt it . Its pretty fascinating. A lot at stake there. But look at this. The positioning that Boris Johnson is taking is so extreme that even conservatives in britain who support brexit cant get along with a no deal brexit because they think that the consequences could be too damaging for britain. So hes put himself into a corner and he it looks now like hes tearing his party to shreds doing it. The imextplications for the economy for greater britain and europe, the economy of the United States are affected as well. These are all significant issues. Stumbling into the situation he stumbled into, the question is how does he get his way out . Where is the exit path . If there isnt an exit path, here in the United States we have to be cognizant of the fact how do things look here . And the u. S. Economy, one of the topics well talk about in 2020 to continue to grow and be successful if the global headwinds get stiffer, when it looks like they will coming out of uk. Until he figures out how to work with parliament, until he figures out how to work with the eu to come up with a deal, so there can ab i glide path out of brexit or at least not a crash landing, hes going to continue to have the problems that he has. Its not just about brexit, because, again, a lot of the conservatives who are now opposing him support brexit. But a Nodeal Brexit would be disastrous they believe for britain, for europe, and would be disastrous for the world economy. Well, new polling from the Washington Post, an abc news shows President Trumps Approval Rating has dipped with 56 of u. S. Adults now saying they disapprove of his performance in office. The poll finds trumps economic approval also in decline, down five points from early july to 46 . And while more than half still rate the economy positively, 60 believe a recession is likely in the next year. I wonder if that sort of reflects Consumer Confidence in some ways, just people feeling concerned about the economy. Yeah. I dont know. Mika, was it banana rama that sang cruel, cruel summer . Im embarrassed i dont know that. Alex corson confirms that it was. And the soundtrack for karate kid. I think it may have been the soundtrack for karate kid. Whats the point . The point is this. Lanhee for the past couple of weeks weve been talking about how bad this summer has been for donald trump politically that a lot of people in the mainstream media, a lot of liberals and lifelong democrats think that because donald trump shocked them so much in 2016 that he has some magic voodoo powers. And whatever he does, theyre somehow pulling the wool over his eyes and they dont get it. Sometimes stupid is just stupid. Drawing sharp hiss on weather maps or leading fascist chants in what a lot of people claim would be fascist chants send her back and you look over the course of the summer it seems like hes had one forced error over another unforced error. And you see in this Washington Post poll his Approval Rating drops from 44 , pretty good for donald trump, down 38 in september. Its been a tough summer for him for a and a lot of political selfinflicted wounds. Yeah. You know, i think thats the thing probably that frustrates republicans on capitol hill the most is that a lot of this is, indeed, selfinflicted. Look, i think that number dipping below 40 is still an important threshold. I think, though, the mower worrisome number for the white house and probably for the president s campaign is the handling of the economy. Because that is going to be and has been the essence of the president s messaged at essence of his case for reelection. Because, you know, hes always sort of broadly had these issues with popularity, the question really becomes how do people think hes handled the economy . You heard last night in the Campaign Rally in North Carolina i think that the president really in some ways, the Approval Rating almost doesnt matter overall because is he going to make this a very stark contrast between what the democrats are proposing and what he is proposing. And to the exextetent that he c keep that line as bright as possible and if the democrats continue to push left, it gives him the essence of an argument that goes beyond the economy. Youre starting to see that now because with the handling of the Economy Numbers being where they are, it should be concerning for the administration. Jonathan lemire, we see the outward confidence from the president. We see the outward confidence from this white house. They point to signs in the economy that remain strong, that hes confident hell be reelected. We saw it again last night at that rally in North Carolina. But you cant look at poll after poll that shows you between 37 and 42 , 43 consistently, never cracking 50 as president and feel terribly confident about the way the countrys feeling about you. Do you see any cracks privately in your conversations inside the white house in terms of that confidence for reelection . Youre certainly right that outwardly the president is swaggering and boastful and we heard it at the rally last night. But people around him are concerned and the president has expressed private worry about the economy. That has been, as was just discussed, that has always been his number one argument for reelection. That he would he ties his fortunes to the stock market in an unprecedented way. When tss itits been doing well quick to boast about it. People around him know it provides some cover for republicans or independents who dont like the racist rhetoric or the divisive policies. But this is why they can hold their nose and vote for him because hes good economy. If that argument goes away, they know theyre in trouble. What were seeing here is that an attempt to highlight other issues. As much as hes defending his handling of the economy, most notably the china trade war, though certainly an argument could be made thats a selfinflicted wound dragging him down right now. We saw his attempt to paint democrats as the party of the extreme left. He even at one moment said they were the americahating left. He is, as lanhee just said trying to draw the contrast between what he can offere and the democrats can over. The democrats are perhaps overplaying their hand and are risking going too far to the left allowing the president to paint them as socialists or other terms. And suggest play to the middle of the American Public who might not like him but are afraid of what could come next. So careen jean tee, a, the Approval Ratings that we just looked at, it could lead to the possibility that there might be some republicans who think, im not going vote for trump. And my question to you would be, is joe biden the only democrat that a republican whos perhaps losing page this president would fee safe voting for and is that a problem when you look at the entire field . I dont think so. Who else. Weve seen the head to head polls and seen five Democratic Candidates who beat donald trump in a general election match to match. But im asking im asking what democrat besides joe biden would a republican who voted for trump feel safe voting for if they were looking for an alternative . I think its joe biden but my worry is its only joe biden. Theyre not going to vote for Elizabeth Warren. So heres the thing about Elizabeth Warren that i have the view on. Its like we have to remember Elizabeth Warren was, you know, a republican longer than she was a democrat. Shes from oklahoma. Shes able to shes taking her policy and has taken it to purple states and red states. And if you hear from folks who attended those some of those town halls that shes held, in particular in ohio, they actually like what she is selling, what shes putting forth. So i actually dont truly believe that biden is the only one. I do believe that we have other candidates out there, especially, like i said, when you look at those head to head matchups and i always say its still very early, we just dont know. But going to the economy for a second, mika, look, i think what democrats need to do is they have to make sure that they show the failures of this president. And lanhee was right. The approval numbers may not matter because its a negative race, this is what donald trump is going to do in the again election. But that economy number going down, that is really key. They have to show that donald trump has a i abandoned farmers. He has thrown he has thrown the middle class folks under the bus. Like they have to make sure they make that contrast. Talk about the trade war. Talk about all the things that donald trump has promised and has not delivered on. And the economy is going to be key because, as we know, that has been what donald trump has said and his campaign has believed, that they were going really win on is the economy. And right now with numbers at polling after polling after polling people are just not confident with how donald trump is taking this country when it comes to the economy. So we look at these numbers, elise jordan, lets now move to the Republican Party and possible challengers for donald trump. Yesterday liz mayer wrote an article saying mark san froford provides a heck of a contrast to donald trump. He is the conservatives conservative. Hes the sort of small Government Conservative that actually was in washington when i was in washington. And unlike all the other people or most of the other people who served with me, sanford never changed. Hes a fiscal conservative. He believes in free trade. He believes in the sorts of the things that republicans have always claimed to believe in. And i just wonder looking toward, lets say, New Hampshire theres been some unease with donald trump up there, suddenly you look at these Approval Ratings, you look at the numbers on the economy and you start wondering can somebody like mark sanford pull, you know, 40 like Gene Mccarthy did in 68 that ended lbjs campaign or pat buchanan did in 1992 that forever crippled george h. W. Bushs campaign or what happened with bob dole. Suddenly as these numbers go down, the possibilities for sanford and some of these other republicans to really cut into his vote totals. You know, a common thing, joe, that ive observed over the last two years going around the country doing focus groups for the ash kroft in America Project is Republican Voters are tolerating donald trump, but they definitely would flirt with another option. Sometimes you wonder, oh, maybe this is just because were in New Hampshire and were hearing that and theyre used to having so much undue influence on the primary process. But then going across the country heard it in minnesota, youre hearing it in iowa, youre hearing it in arizona. And so i think there is a level of fundamental dissatisfaction with Donald Trumps personal attributes thats tolerated as long as the economys strong. And i hope that there isnt a recession, but if i had to look at the Economic Indicators right now, i would say that its probably the economys as good as its going to get during trumps presidency. I really hope im wrong on that projection and that the economy grows and grows and grows. But, if youre looking at historical trends and cycles, its probably not going to get any better than this. So donald trump further makes the economic the economy weaker by his trade war with china and tweeting crazy things that, you know, rules the market, voters are going notice. And so i think that mark sanford is an important person to join the race just to provide the contrast with donald trump who is anything but a conservative or a republican. Well, yeah. And its interesting that when we were down at ole miss last year the republicans and i was surprised the republicans that all supported donald trump, when you brought up i said what if nikki haley ran against donald trump in a primary . What if mike presenence ran aga donald trump in a primary would you consider voting and almost every person said yes. So lets talk about the economy right now and god help us if we have another recession, because if you look at both fiscal policy and monetary policy, weve pretty much used most of the arrows that we have to sort of punch up the economy. You see whats happening in china. Their economys going down. You look at the struggles that germanys having. You look at the struggles that other countries across the globe are having. It is these are darker times, the jobs report in america was below what most economists expected this past month. If you read the financial times, if you read the wall street journal, so many people are really fearing a global recession. What are your thoughts on that and what can donald trump do . What should donald trump do to try to avoid a coming recession . Joe, id say the biggest enemy of our economy and the Global Economy right now is probably uncertainty. And that is something that, you know, unfortunately with all the dialogue on the trade negotiation with china, what were seeing coming out of brexit, what we talked about at the beginning of the hour, these are all things that fuel uncertainty. And that is the biggest enemy of, i think, of Economic Growth and of the stability of the u. S. Economy Going Forward. Youre right, i think unfortunately a lot of the tools certainly of fiscal policy have been exhausted. And we dont expect a whole lot more there because its going require the congress to act. And i just dont see the Congress Acting further on the economy. When it comes to monetary policy, the fed is going to act probably on rates here in a couple weeks. I dont see them acting a whole lot more between now and the election. And so really the question is what happens globally . The headwinds are very strong coming out of asia. Weak economies there. The chinese economy is a lot weaker than the chinese want to let on. Weve got headwinds out of europe with whats happening in the uk but also in broader and Greater Europe youre seeing economic slowdowns. Here in the u. S. , the big challenge, as i said, is you need certainty. People in business need certainty to plan around. They need to be able to show what they want to do in terms of Capital Expenditures going into next year. In the absence of that economic certainty, joe, its going to be very difficult for this economy to continue to grow. The labor market is actually a lagging indicator. So if the labor market begins to show kiens signs of weakness, t probably is going to be the last in the sequence. We have to be very careful going into the last quart of this year a quarter of this year and First Quarter of last year. Confidence of ceos is down, taking a steep decline. Investment from Companies Going down, showing a steep decline. All again, in Consumer Confidence starting to go down. Not as dramatically as ceo confidence. But you really do see that it is the chaos. And i think it was jeb bush that called jeb bush i think it was that called donald trump the chaos candidate are t. Right now hes the chaos commander and chief and the impact thats having for small and Large Businesses alike is causing a drag on the aeneconom and just may hurt American Workers if he doesnt bring some stability to this process soon and stop with the bellicose rhetoric and the trade wars that are really damaging the world economy. Not just the policy. Theyre damaging us. His overall behavior. This alabama thing, all these things are extremely discomforting to people who are looking for a leader to lead. And value the truth. Lanheee ch chen, thank you so m. Still coming up, quote, she said. Its the title of a new book the New York Times reporters who broke the Harvey Weinstein story and opened the flood gates to so much more. Jodi kantor and megan two o meg next on morning joe. Megan jos next on morning joe. I get it all the time. Have you lost weight . Of course i have ever since i started renting from national. Because national lets me lose the wait at the counter. And choose any car in the aisle. And i dont wait when i return, thanks to drop go. At national, i can lose the wait. And keep it off. Looking good, patrick. I know. vo go national. Go like a pro. We really pride ourselves on temaking it easy for youass, to get your windshield fixed. Teacher lets turn in your science papers. 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Stop trulicity and call your doctor right away if you have an allergic reaction, a lump or swelling in your neck, or severe stomach pain. Serious side effects may include pancreatitis. Taking trulicity with a sulfonylurea or insulin increases low blood sugar risk. Side effects include nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, belly pain and decreased appetite, which lead to dehydration and may worsen kidney problems. I have it within me to lower my a1c. Since the New York Times published the Sexual Harassment allegations against Harvey Weinstein all most two years ago, more than 80 women, 80, have come forward accusing the hollywood movie producer of sexual misconduct. Weinstein has denied any allegations of nonconsensual sex and has pleaded not guilty to Sexual Assault charges in new york where he is set to go on trial in january. This was such a huge story and opened the doors. Joining us now, the two reporters who brought to life the allegations against weinstein which is widely seen to have sparked the me too movement. Pulitzer Prize Winners and investigate greattive reporters the New York Times, jodi kantor and megan twohey. They are coauthors of the new book she said breaking the story that helped ignite a movement. And once again, congratulations on the book and these stories. Joe. So, i just want to ask jodi and megan just sort of a view from 30,000 feet on that movement that was started, you know, as woodward and bernstein were to watergate, you two were in large part the me too movement. How much of that movement do you think was fueled by not just your reporting but also with the election of donald trump and the charges against donald trump that basically went ignored . Have you all you all talk about that . Have you talked about that over the past couple of years . How much does that does that add toxicity to the environment that made a lot of women decide i have to come forward . Well, its interesting because, you know, what were doing f doing in this book were trying to bring you behind the scenes and show you the original communications with sources, the texts, and the emails because this story has turned out to mean so much to so many people. And in regards to trump, on the one hand there were certainly a rising tide of frustration by women about these allegations. Megan was actually one of the first reporters to talk in print about about trump allegedly crossing the line with women. And megan covered those womens complaints and then watched him be elected. So certainly we watched, you know, were journists, not activists, so we watched the womens march from afar as it played out in january, 2018. But then a few months later when we were on the phone with sources about weinstein, the trump factor kind of cut both ways for them. On the one hand, they could certainly feel that there was something in the air, that there was in rising tide that had to do with bill oreilly and bill cosby. But on the other hand, what some sources said i cant go on the record with you because it doesnt matter who when you tell these stories. Donald trump was elected president anyway and why should i take the risk of airing these problems publicly when nothing changes when you do . You guys write megan about the system set up to protect Harvey Weinstein. Im curious about overall culture and how much culture has changed as this story was broken and so many others came tumbling down as well. What walls did you hit in your report thong story and what walls were your able to break down. One of the things that we realized was our first article on Harvey Weinstein was just the beginning. We had started to piece together, connect some of the dots. Since then weve been able to piece together so many other pieces of the puzzle. And i think thats whats come into sharper view was this machinery that was in place to silence the women and try to block our investigation. That included some surprising figures like the feminist attorney lisa bloom. There was also we wanted to probe the question of complicity. There were individuals and institutions who glimpsed weinsteins behavior over the years and saw the allegations of misconduct against him, individuals institutions including his own company. And we really pushed in to try to examine who knew what when and what did they try to do, including weinsteins own brother Bob Weinstein who opened up to s the first time to talk about the enabling role that he played. Another thing we wanted to examine was the issue of secret settlements. These apply not just to some of weinsteins victims, to victims of Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault across the country. So often women will come forward and say this just happened to me want to do something about it and their lawyers all too often will steer them into these settlements in which they basically are sentenced in exchange for money. Theyre told this is the only option. So so many of the women we went to as we were trying to track down this story were legally prohibited from telling us what had happened to them. And those systems are still in place today. So i think that while there has bane l been a lot of cultural shift and weinstein was ousted from his own company, hes going on criminal trial, theres a lot of systemic questions that we all have to grapple with. One of the headlines thats jumping out of this amazing back thats out today, she said that again edge paltrow was a key to your investigation. She was on the inside, won the oscar with Harvey Weinstein for shakespeare in love. Can you talk a little bit about the role she played . When she started this investigation she was barely on our our list of people to call. You dont think Gwyneth Paltrow victim. We also never thought we would be able to reach her. Low and behold a few weeks into the investigation we got a tip. Not only was she very honest with us and confided in us, the story she had held close for a long time, which is that at the very start of her career when she had two important roles on the line, what she says is that weinstein sexually harassed her. He tried to end a meeting, sort of conventional business meeting by suggesting that they go into the bedroom for massages. But he threatened her, which is just as important. Because what we all have to understand about this story is that the theme with weinstein is the allegation of using work as a tool of coercion. And so she was very worried that she would lose these roles. She felt she had to be silent for a long time. So not only did she tell us this story at a time when very few people in hollywood were willing to pick up the phone to us, but she really helped our investigation. She politely asked me for tips on Investigative Journalism and we talked about who she should contact. And she set about all of that summer contacting other actress whos she thought might talk to us. Even for gwyneth it was very hard to get people to talk. And weinstein became increasingly obsessed with the question of whether she was speaking to us at night. At one point we got a series of panicked phone calls and texts from her because had he shown up early to a party to her house and she was hiding upstairs in the bathroom afraid he was going to try to confront her. That was an extraordinary scene, the story you tell where he gets there early, right, before was he even invited to the party . He was not invited to the party. But he shows up at her house. He invited himself, basically. Right. And so she called me when she knew that he wanted to come, this was, i dont know, a week or two ahead of time and said what should i do . As a reporter you cant really tell your source whats do but you can sort of hear them out. And what she decided is she said im going to let him come to the party because otherwise its a tipoff that im talking to you. So i was very nervous that day in general about how things would go. And then low and behold, he shows up early. And shes feeling very frozen, very sure not wa what ha to say. And as a journalist were not looking at her as this huge celebra celebrity, were look at her as a source with a lot of information that could go on the record. So we were very worried and thought were going to lose her. Shes not going stay committed to this. But she did. She was very afraid go on the record for the first story, but she was right there for the second story. And i think her coming forward had a really big impact both because of her stature and also because of something really disturbing we all found out later which is that many weinstein victims say that he had invoked gwyneth in the course of what rasing or assaulting other people. Good for her for stepping up and doing that. Megan, it speaks to the power of Harvey Weinstein that even Gwyneth Paltrow, this person we see as this famous, accomplished, beautiful wealthy actress, presumably powerful in hollywood, even she had reservations about crossing him. Thats right. There was a moment where we werent sure if we were going to get anybody on the record. We were three months into our reporting when we had sort of the hushed meeting with our editor over a drink at a bar in midtown manhattan and we spelled out all the information that we had gathered. And she said is anybody on the record . And at that point we had to say no, not yet. She said well do you dont have a publishable story. So another thing we wanted to do is illustrate the power this man had to maintain secrecy, like this cloak of secrecy for years. So let me try the flip side of that, although i certainly dont want to be in the position of because i think its amazing that she shared that story and became such a helpful source to you all. But given her power on the international stage, why didnt she speak up sooner . Did she struggle with that . It was hard for really everybody to go on the record. Nobody wanted to break the silence. In gwyneths case, part of what was hard was that she really wanted to do it. She had been explicited to tcom summer but we published before we thought we would. And she went to the close people in her life, friends, family pleb members, she said this is what i might do. And everyone said dont do it. There sore many good reasons not to go on the ready, and we fw s understand that. Women who are ahaasharassed, wh they have to make this report of making the statement or report in their own offices which could be difficult as well. I want to understand beyond sexually harassing her and trying to get her to move into a massage room, what kind of threat are we talking about . So the threat was she was cast in ema, which was a really big deal. Was that a starmaking role. That was a really substantial female lead. She had been cast but the movie hadnt been shot. And when he called her to berate her for having told brad pitt who was her boyfriend at the time, what she says is that he threatened her and says something youre going to screw everything up, youre going to lose your whole career, this is going to ruin everything. Wow. So so like a lot of shes a more famous example, but she has a lot in common with other weinstein victims weve spoken to. Because so many of them, including former assistants, they had ambitions and dreams. They wanted opportunity. And so that is part of what weinstein was able to exploit. Weinsteins role manipulating the press is so central to this book and to why he was able to abuse and go along as a predator for so many years without without notice until you really pursued the story. How was the media complicit in helping Harvey Weinstein clamp down on bad stories . And i know that he pressured you at the end and tried to keep you from airing your reporting and losing the scoop. So what role should how can media better cover these kind of stories . Listen, i think thats a great question. The American Media, the Parent Company to National Enquirer has received a lot of attention for the role that it played in helping donald trump cover up his sort of secret affairs with women, allegedly secret affairs with women, Stormy Daniels and karen mcdougal. And what we realized in the course of our reporting and one of the things thats come out is that American Media also helped Harvey Weinstein. It basically put to work some of its reporters to dig up dirt on some of the accusers that he thought might go public with allegations. So i think thats actually one of the most remarkable cases of complicity in all of this and that America Media should still be held accountabletor that. A for that. So when it came to weinsteins attempts to manipulate the New York Times, he came in with highpowered attorneys, he had david boise by his side trying to pump the brakes on this investigation, and he also had this privacy Investor Firm made up of former Israeli Intelligence officials that basically had a contract against us that wa it wit was going to d a 300,000 bonus if it could put a stop tour investigation. But in the end the truth and facts won. People read these stories that have impact, huge impact on our culture from people reading them. But people also assumed all of this happened in the past year, two years. This went on for a long, long period of time. If you could, talk about the protective screen around him. Around Harvey Weinstein. And i just happened to open the book, by the way, its an enormously unbelievably wellreported book. Thank you. I just happen to open it to a letter from har vie weinstein to david boise about his daughters movie career. Thats part of what were talking about, isnt it, that protective screen . David had actually worked with Harvey Weinstein going back to 2002. He was, if youre looking at the assortment of lawyers who were by weinsteins side, david was the closest. Hes watt goto person the had his assistants have described him calling david sometimes as many as ten times a day. Much more than a lawyer to him. Much, much more than a lawyer. And weve known that. We knee knew davw david was then the allegations against him as early as 2002 when the new yorker was starting to piece together some allegations of Sexual Assault against him. David went into the office and tried to talk them successfully helped talk them out of it. And then even in 2015 when his company when weinsteins company was trying to scrutinize him and was increasingly concerned, david was blocking them from looking at his personnel file. And weve sort of known that, but what we realized in the course of our reporting was that their relationship was much tighter than attorney client. They also were discussing david was interested in getting into the Film Industry and they even had these email exchanges in which they were talking about potential roles for davids daughter, an aspiring actress. But i also want to point out that megan is talking about, you know, these sort of corridors of power, right . The movie business, highpowered lawyers, et cetera, et cetera. But theres also i think something so relatable about this material for the rest of us that deals with our own offices and our own lives. Another document in the book is this really pleading letter from Bob Weinstein, harveys brother, that megan obtained. Its super brother to brother. Its super private. Bob weinstein is confronting harvey and saying for, you know, for all of these years you have brought shame on our family and our company. You know, you havent addressed these problems. Hes talking about a variety of problems, including workplace abuse, but he also appears he uses the word sexual, he talks about your wife and children. So he clearly appears to be referencing sexual transgressions as well. And i think there are just questions for all of us about, you know, if you see something thats wrong, what do you say . How do you say it . How far do you need to go . Where do you stop . And thats a genuine moral dilemma that we see cropping up in these me too cases again and again and again. And bob sent that letter in 2015, a couple years before your reporting. So obviously this was on a lot of peoples radar before you even brought it to skbliet that light. It was one of the questions when we came out of weinstein story. That this was his brother, only sibling. They were in business together for decades during the time he was engaging this this alleged predatory behavior. What did bob know . When did he know it . What did he try to do about it . He finally opened up to us in a series of interviews that he was able to explain that he was aware of acc san diegos of Sexual Assault and harassment against his brother. He like many people chose to believe him when he said it was Extramarital Affairs and nothing more. And he was also informed by he also adopted a rationale that was rooted in his own personal experience with Substance Abuse and recovery which was that he chose to view his brothers problem as sex addiction. So in this 2015 letter he is intimate letter that he writes to his brother, hes pleading with him to get treatment for sex addiction. And but clearly we produce that letter in its entirety so that readers can see for themselves and ponder the question of what do you do when you get glimpses of a problem and how do people become complicit. This is incredible. Nbc news reached out to Harvey Weinstein for a reaction to the new book and received a statement from his defense attorney that reads in part, quote, she says is all you need to know to appreciate that this book contains one sided allegations without having adequately investigated the facts of each situation. There is very different side to every story. Yeah. So the one thing ill say is that you all have created a space that created more spaces for women to come forward and actually tell their stories. And that has been one of the most important parts of this movement is giving went space to speak out. The book is she said breaking the Sexual Harassment story that helped ignite a movement. Jodi kantor and megan twohey, thank you so much. Thank you for having us. Good to have you on. Coming up, another new polling out this morning showing joe biden with a doubledigit lead over his 2020 democratic rivals. Those new numbers are ahead. Plus, President Trump and his allies say the ongoing trade war is not affecting americans, only china. But why, then, is the usda paying billions of dollars, billions, to American Farmers for trade relief . Well talk about the effects of the trade war signs of a possible recession with Stephanie Ruhle next on morning joe. H Stephanie Ruhle next on morning joe. Lets get down to business. The business of hard work. Hustle. And high fives. Modernized comfort inns and suites have been refreshed because our business is you. Get the lowest price guaranteed on all Choice Hotels when you book direct at choicehotels. Com. 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President trump claimed on saturday that he had scheduled and then canceled a meeting with the taliban at camp david to discuss a peace agreement. And if youre wondering where we are as a nation, my first thought was, i dont know, ill believe it when i hear it from the taliban the Washington Post has published a new article calling former Vice President joe biden and senator Elizabeth Warren as frenemies. Even crazier, they referred to john delaney and Michael Bennet as candidates. Live look at capitol hill. Welcome back to morning joe. Joe biden continues to lead the democratic primary field, according to the newest Morning Consult poll out this hour. Biden at 33 is 12 points ahead of the crowded democratic primary field. Senator Bernie Sanders sits at second place at 21 , and senator Elizabeth Warren rounds up the top three with 16 of democratic voters supports. Morning consult also polled voters in just the early primary states of iowa, New Hampshire, south carolina, and nevada. The top three remain the same while mayor Pete Buttigieg jumps up to fourth at 6 . Also notable is businessman tom steyer, who jumps up to sixth with 4 . Meanwhile, signs of a weakening economy have put the Business Community on edge, but donald trump will not let go of his favorite bragging points, saying the media made up the recession thing to hurt his reelection campaign. This as treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin says the trade war hasnt hurt the american side. And they tried to do the recession thing. You know, they tried the russia thing, that didnt work. They tried many other things. I always say, the media and their partner, the democrats. [ crowd reacts ] i wouldnt mind fighting the democrats, but we really have to look at it as a twosome. Its the media and the democrats. Its one and the same. Were rebuilding our military, defending our sovereignty, and reclaiming our dignity as a nation. America is winning again and america is respected again. They respect america. Its fair to say its impacted the chinese economy. We we have not yet seen any impact on the u. S. Economy. Joining us now, msnbcs Stephanie Ruhle. Stephanie, can you explain the recession thing . Where does the economy stand now . What are the signs were seeing . Mika, first of all, no one is cheering on a recession. To say to people, you might want to bring an umbrella because it could rain outside is simply responsible. Theres no partnership between the media and the democrats, but when you actually look at the data and say we have been in a tenyear economic expansion, we are seeing a global slowdown, whether youre talking about issues around brexit, issues in asia, youve got nine economies that could potentially face a recession. Theres a big difference between a recession, which is a normal cycle, and a crisis. No one is talking about a crisis. So whether its the president saying, were making this up, or Steve Mnuchin flatout lying when he says the u. S. Economy has not felt the impact of the trade war, give me a break we have an 18 billion farm paid bailout. Why would we be doing that if there was no impact . Kareen, jump in here, obviously, theres a political impact if the economy starts to really show signs of weakening. I think thats exactly right. Look, nobody wants a recession. Nobodys asking for it, because as we know, were talking about peoples life savings. Were talking about peoples lives and their future and the problem here is that what donald trump is doing, hes not offering any fiscal policies to fix this. He holds a press conference, you cant thats not you cant just do that only. You cant just tweet. So stephanie, what would a normal president be doing right now knowing that the forecast is leading to a recession . Well straight out of the gate, no administration should hang their hat on saying im responsible for the winning economy, because there are so many more factors that go outside the oval office, but straight out of the gate, when you saw the president take credit for it, when you saw his daughterinlaw, laura trump, say, President Trump is responsible for turning around the economy, what turnaround . We have been on a steady improvement since the crisis ten years ago. So the president , at some point, has to live by the sword and die by the sword. And to start to prepare the American People for a normal economy, its true. A large portion of this country was left out of the recovery. We know that weve got a manufacturing problem. We know that we have an education inequality problem. Where lots of people are not equipped for the jobs of tomorrow. So we can address that and say, all of these companies that now have money and are investing are investing in automation, not giving laverne and shirley their jobs back. If we can get honest about that and say, these are gargantuan problems that we have to face, then maybe we have a shot. So, steph, the president famously said that trade wars are good and easy to win. We know he just says things to get through the moment, whatever feels good, but what do you make of a treasury secretary in Steve Mnuchin, and by the way, the rare republican that comes on this show when we ask them about trade wars and tariffs, previously fundamentally disagreeing with them, saying, we see no impact here, prices havent gone up, they are easy to win. What do you make of that when someone like Steve Mnuchin who knows better goes out and robotically speaks that way . Its a dangerous lie in the same way that sitting next to the president at the g7 when he talks about a phone call that took place with china never took place. Its dangerous. And this is where ceos, ceos that got absolutely hooked up by that tax cut, who should be dancing in the streets. Thats why those ceos are sitting on cash right now. You heard lonnanhee chen speak about it earlier. When you have a president and a treasury secretary that are not being honest about whats happening, these ceos are going to say, im going to sit on this cash, because i have no idea whats ahead. Stephanie, before you go, you wrote a piece for knowyourvalue. Com and took issue with the forbes list. Only one of those 100 most innovative woman being a woman. When you have two people on the list named stanley and only one woman, you have a problem. When i saw this list on friday night, i thought, youve got to be kidding me. At the same time, twitter attacked forbes. We saw this cancel forbes, were finished, were done with them. Well, thats taking it too far. This is an opportunity to say, why did they make the list like this . Valerie jarrett reached out and said, hold on a second. She took to twitter and said, if you came up with a list and only one right, if 50 of the population isnt represented, lets look at your methodology. And where i really take issue is when the editor came forward and offered somewhat of an apology, saying, well this has made us realize that women are not present on top and maybe we need to look at our methodology. Really . You didnt know that . Where its most upsetting is forbes knows this, okay . Forbes women is a tremendous platform. Im sure youve participated in it, i have. Absolutely. And when you see a womens group not get to be part of the Overall Mission of an organization, well, that turns that womens group into the pink getto. Come on, forbes you know better do better its a dynamic piece. Well be reading it at knowyourvalue. Com and you have a new podcast coming out today, modern ruhles, compelling conversations in culturally complicated times. And yes, they are. Stephanie, thank you. Well see you at 9 00 a. M. , right after morning joe. Thank you. Thanks, mika. Still ahead, the president tries to fire up supporters in North Carolina, saying democrats will wipe out his record if elect elected. Well break down his reelection message, maybe that record, as well. Plus, a new report contradicts the president s claim that he has nothing to do with the scottish air force that sent flight crews to his nearby golf resort. Morning joe is back in two minutes. Ort. Morning joe is back in two minutes. You should be mad at tech thats unnecessarily complicated. Make ice. But youre not, because you have e trade, which isnt complicated. Their tools make trading quicker and simpler so you can take on the markets with confidence. Dont get mad. Get e trade. When i needed to create a better visitor experience. Improve our workflow. Attract new customers. Thats when fastsigns recommended fleet graphics. Yeah, and now business is rolling in. Get started at fastsigns. Com. You get more than yourFree Shipping. Ir, you get everything you need for your home at a great price, the way it works best for you, ill take that. Wait honey, no. When you want it. You get a delivery experience you can always count on. You get your perfect find at a price to match, on your own schedule. You get fast and Free Shipping on the things that make your home feel like you. Thats what you get when youve got wayfair. So shop now all right. Good morning and welcome to morning joe. Its tuesday, september 10th. Along with joe, willie and me, we have msnbc contributor, mike barnacle. Former aide to the george w. Bush white house and state departments elise jordan is with us. Former fbi special agent and msnbc contributor, clint watts. White house reporter for the associated press, jonathan la mir is with us, and pulitzer prizewinning columnist and associate editor of Washington Post and msnbc political analyst, eugene robinson. Good to have you all with us this morning. Willie geist, we all have our verbal ticks. I mean, mine for the longest time is when i was in congress, i said i would bring together mikas is uh, uh, uh. Its really not. Its a good snl moment, though. We all have our verbal tics. Whats yours, willie . I dont know. The one thats most annoying, i think, in our present culture is people saying right . Ed ed at end of a sentence, but in the form of a question. I dont mean to get off on a rant, i guess what im saying is i have no annoying verbal tics. Jonathan lamir, tell us about the rally last night in south carolina. Over the summer, really, the start of a precipitous decline for donald trump in his behavior. Bad gets worse and his poll numbers drop because of it. But North Carolina, of course, a place where most commentators said trump led the crowd in what could only be described as fascist chants. Thats what a lot of commentators are saying, the whoe whole, send them back, send her home. What about last night . Was it a calmer affair last night in North Carolina with donald trump . So we were in fayetteville, North Carolina, last night. I was part of the press pool that traveled there to cover the president s rally. We were only about a hundred miles from the site of the previous rally in greenville, where the racist send her back chants about those four democratic congresswomen of color in particular, representative omar, who was born in somalia, those chants were heard and really rattled republicans and sort of seemed to really set a tone for a really ugly year and a half here of a campaign fought along the lines of race and divisiveness. We didnt hear those chants last night. The crowd never got anywhere. And the president also did not mention any of those congresswomen, there was no moment for them to start with that chant again. We have now had a few rallies in which we have, in a row, in which we have not heard it. But last nights rally is still potentially an interesting moment for this president , because of todays special election in North Carolina, where he is trying to push a republican candidate across the finish line to win an open seat there. And its being viewed sort of as a referendum on his political clout right now. The district part of it is areas outside charlotte where he has struggled in the past. Its a seat that republicans have held for quite some time, but polling indicates its pretty close. And we saw from the president , this is his first time in this rally setting, which is where he likes to vent and air his grievances, since it was a really tough end of summer for him, where we saw his poll numbers slip. We saw signs that the economy is slowing down, potentially leading towards a recession. We saw a nonsensical battle over hurricane Weather Forecasts. But held largely stuck to the script, as if he ever actually has one. Last night, but he made it clear, he painted a bleak picture for this nation, if democrats were to win. According to him, that it would be overrun with crime and poverty and Illegal Immigrants and he sort of he basically made it clear that if you want to keep what you have, you need to keep me ideally in office and ideally send this republican to the house. So willie, before we get to our top news story of the day, we saw a poll that david leanhart put out on twitter last night that showed the democrats actually had an advantage in 2018 on Party Identification. And it wasnt really even close. Now, a year later, after the first three democratic debates, its even. As far as Party Identification, you know, do you support republicans, do you support democrats, are you a republican . Its now down the middle. And so much of that is not because of donald trump, whose numbers have fallen precipitously, its those debates where democrats are ridiculing obamacare as being too conservative, attacking barack obama on immigration, talking about decriminalizing illegal immigration, talking about giving Health Care Plans to Illegal Immigrants. Talking about forgiving basically all debt, medical debt, student debt, you know, 22 trillion in debt as a nation. For a lot of americans, this just doesnt add up. And thats why youve seen joe biden remain where he is, because he hasnt gone into that territory. For all the problems hes had and all the mistakes hes made and the misstatements hes made on the campaign trail, he hasnt gone to that place of eliminating private insurance and providing health care to people who are here with undocumented. So that is the central concern in this race. If you let donald trump just do his thing, democrats feel like they can beat him, because hes going to bury himself. But they have to be very careful not to bury themselves in their own debate process. Youre down to ten now, coming up on thursday. Excuse me and the democrats will have to look very carefully at the way they behave in the previous two debates. Because you cannot attack this guy, joe biden, in the way that youve done that. You cannot attack barack obama, perhaps the most beloved figure in the Democratic Party and in the country, at a time when youre trying to defeat donald trump. Yeah, mika, attacking barack obama as being too conservative. Being too harsh on health care and immigration. Most americans remember that barack obama actually helped pass a law that gave coverage to those with preexisting conditions, that took care of their older children, that did a lot of things, that lowered the uninsured in america. They also, actually now that donald trump has made such a mess of our immigration policy, remember that under barack obama, illegal border crossings were at a 50year low. That is the case. That is the truth. Okay, so if you want more of the same, here are our top news stories this morning. Several bombshell reports reveal that in mid2017, the United States successfully exfiltrated one of its top spies from russia over fears he was in danger of being caught. The New York Times reports that the cias russian informant, who was outside of Vladimir Putins inner circle, but saw him regularly and had access to highlevel kremlin Decision Making, was instrumental to the agencys conclusion that putin ordered and orchestrated the interference campaign in the 2016 president ial election. The times adds that the source was the governments, quote, best insight into the thinking of and orders from putin. And was key to the cias assessment that putin favored trump and personally ordered the hacking of the dnc. Putin later confirmed in a 2018 News Conference in helsinki that the kremlin favored trump. Nbc news has not confirmed that the russian fed the cia information about the russia election interference, but for reasons that nbc is withholding, he fits the profile of someone who may have had access to information about putins activities and who would have been recruitable by american intelligence officials. Current and former government officials tell nbc news that a former senior russian official who had access to government secrets is currently living in the Washington Area, under u. S. Government protection. Nbc news has not confirmed that this official is the cia asset mentioned in the New York Times, and cnn reports, however, to former fbi officials tell nbc news, they believe he is the source referred to in those reports. President trump was asked about the story yesterday. Have you responded to reports today that say that you have mishandled classified information to russia . I know nothing about it. I see the cia responded perfectly, so whatever the cia said is fine with me. But i heard they responded perfectly. I know nothing. So clint watts, obviously, this is an extraordinarily disturbing report. You have the times going a bit further than others, suggesting that actually, this spy that was so highly placed im sorry, it was cnn who went further, that it was this spy who was placed in putins inner circle was actually pulled out because of fears that donald trump would reveal his existence. Others have just suggested that the heat was getting too high with what was in the media and there were also concerns about donald trump. But, you know, if you go back to, i think it was february of 2017, donald trump revealed classified information from an ally in the white house to russias foreign minister and ambassador of the United States. So, obviously, the prudent move, regardless, given the fact that he was trying so hard to pass along, and theres a picture where he passed along very sensitive, highly Sensitive Information to the russians, in the light of day, in the oval office, suggests that no source in putins inner circle would be safe with this man as commander in chief. Yeah, and what i would add to that cnn story is what else started in may 2017 . That was the special counsel investigation. And i think that is maybe a little bit less discussed in these articles, but should be put in context. As soon as you launch an investigation like that, we know that theres going to be extensive amounts of intelligence thats going to come forward thats almost impossible to mask. And what did we see from our congressional leaders once the special counsel investigation started . Discussions of fisas, leaks about all sorts of classified sources, people battling back and forth. And that has spilled out in the public for more than two years. So when we look back now, over the last four to five years, lets just look at what putin did. We often talk about 9 11 or we talk about pearl harbor, the significant events. He interfered in our election. He helped evaluate a candidate of his choosing. He launched a Public Inquiry, which has been a quagmire for this country for more than two years, and expunged the top one of the top sources inside russia from russia back to the United States. It will ultimately go down historically as one of the biggest defeats of america, particularly in terms of the intelligence business. Still ahead on morning joe, in order to stay at a trump property near one airport in scotland, you need to travel farther and pay more. That sounds like a bargain i wonder if there are bedbugs . Probably. Despite that, for some reason, members of the military no, no, no, the bedbugs are in doral. But you never know. Doral, i think had the bedbugs. Was it bedbugs in doral . Yeah, the guy had the bedbugs in doral. Anyhow, some members of the military were still making the trip despite the bedbugs. Well dig into why next on morning joe. Ext on morning joe. If you have moderate to thsevere 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. Humira can lower your ability to fight infections. Serious and sometimes fatal infections including tuberculosis, and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened; as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. 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Thats why i take osteo biflex, to keep me moving the way i was made to. It nourishes and strengthens my joints for the long term. Osteo biflex now in triple strength plus magnesium. But were also a company that controls hiv, fights cancer, repairs shattered bones, relieves depression, restores heart rhythms, helps you back from strokes, and keeps you healthy your whole life. From the day youre born we never stop taking care of you. New reporting from the New York Times contradicts the president s claim that he has nothing to do with the scottish airport where air force crews have been refueling and staying overnight at his nearby resort. Nothing to do with it. The times citing documents obtained from the Scottish Government reports that the Trump Organization and trump himself played a direct role in setting up an arrangement between his golf resort in Glasgow Prestwick airport. The partnership, set up in 2014, was reportedly meant to increase private and commercial air traffic to the region. But part of the agreement, according to the times, quote, worked to get Trump Turnberry added to a list of hotels that the airport would routinely send air crews to, even though the turnberry resort is 20 miles from the airport, farther away than many other hotels and has higher advertised prices. The times reports the number of such stops by air force planes at prestwick rose from 180 in 2017 to 257 last year, and 259 so far this year. The 259 stops this year include d 220 overnight stays. Since september of 2017, records show 917 payments for expenses including fuel at the airport worth a total of over 17 million. Heres the president speaking about the issue yesterday. I havent found out, other than when a plane stops at a Massive International airport and gets fuel, i dont own the airport. Every time you find a person landing an airplane within 500 miles of something i own mike pence, as an example, his family lives in doonbeg, ireland. And hes actually told me that he stayed there many years ago at the same i bought it years ago, but he was there before i bought it, i believe, he said. A long time ago. But he was in ireland, so he said, you know what ill do, ill see my family. I didnt know about that. But i can say, he has good taste. Yeah, that is what youd call verbal porridge. I dont know if thats what you call verbal porridge, but thats what you should call verbal porridge. Mike, were standing around here going, we wonder what saudis are staying at the trump hotel in washington, d. C. Lets go through the records to figure out who from qatar is its the United States air force like, we need to look at the United States air force and see how they are now direct i mean, directing millions and millions of dollars trumps way for this airport that actually helps donald trump out, helps his business out to a tune of, what did they say, 17 million in refueling. Thats taxpayer money. Its like mike pence decides to go to the other side of ireland in a meeting and, what, take 250room nights. Im not sure if thats the exact number. I thought that read somewhere. But piling, again, a ton of money into Donald Trumps properties. Its a scam its the Great American scam from scotland to ireland to pennsylvania avenue. Everywhere this guy touches. And now its the United States air force. You know, joe, it doesnt get a whole lot of chatter on cable and occasional theres an Important News story like the one youre just referring to in the times today and in other papers. But the level of corruption in this administration from day one has been epidemic. Coming up on morning joe, to paraphrase the president , when the bahamas sends us their storm victims, theyre not sending their best. How his language in the wake of Hurricane Dorian echos a familiar theme from the white house the white house. Well be back in a moment. Mome. Hey, who are you . Oh, hey jeff, im a car thief. What . im here to steal your car because, well, thats my job. What . What . . What . laughing what . . What . what . [crash] what . haha, it happens. And if youve got cutrate car insurance, paying for this could feel like getting robbed twice. So get allstate. And be better protected from mayhem. Like me. Yesss, im doing it all. The water. The exercise. The fiber. Month after month, and i still have belly pain and recurring constipation. So i asked my doctor what else i could do, and i said yesss to linzess. Linzess treats adults with ibs with constipation or chronic constipation. 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At national, i can lose the wait. And keep it off. Looking good, patrick. I know. vo go national. Go like a pro. Your business is up and running, but is it going beyond fast . Comcast business gives you high speed internet. We also have Solutions Like powerful wifi that gives your entire business more coverage and automatic internet backup that can keep your business running. And it all starts with our gigspeed network. So give us 10 minutes. If we cant offer you faster speed or better savings than your current internet service, well give you 300 dollars for your time. Call now to get your comcast business 10 minute advantage. Comcast business. Beyond fast. If your life is in jeopardy, youre in the bahamas and you want to get to the United States, youre going to be allowed to come to the United States, right . Whether you have travel documents or not. We have to be very careful. Everybody needs totally proper documentation, because, look, the bahamas had some tremendous problems with people going to the bahamas that werent supposed to be there. I dont want to allow people that werent supposed to be in the bahamas to come into the United States, including some very bad people and some very bad gang members and some very, very bad drug dealers. President trump contradicting the acting chief of customs and Border Patrol, mark morgan, just hours apart when asked if bahamians struggling after Hurricane Dorian are welcome here in the United States. The current death toll in the bahamas standing now at 50. Thousands still trying to evacuate, but have been faced with many challenges trying to get into the u. S. Joining us now, nbc news correspondent, julia ainsley, who has been covering this story. Julia, good morning. So which is it . Are the bahamians fleeing the storm who have no homes, no nothing left, trying to get to the United States, are they welcome here or will they be put through some sort of a vetting process. The president pointing to unidentified drug dealers. Not sure who hes talking about there. There was this huge discrepancy yesterday. And first, we should say there are 1,500 survivors from Hurricane Dorian who have already been taken into the custody. At first, it seemed the question was, will these people be given work authorizations, how long can they actually stay here . Weve done that in the past for victims of the haiti 2010 earthquake. Then, because of the president saying, i dont even know if they can come, there was guidance put out last night from customs and Border Protection that said, they do need travel documents, having to go contradict their own commissioner who said they could come no matter what. There was a line in there that said port directors can use their own discretion if someone has certain circumstances, but they all have circumstances. Theyre fleeing mass devastation. So at this point, though, they say, you do have to have valid travel documents, but officials ive spoken to say, it has come up at dhs meetings, how will these people find their travel documents in the midst of that. Look at that. How do you find a passport if that . So julia, the logistics of this, from the bahamas to the United States, how do they get here . What happens to them when they do arrive here . Well, there are a number of ways we have to remember, there are about two Northern Ireland thars that were the mos devastated, but there are other places you can leave from, there can be flights coming into the United States. But in one case, there was a ferry that was leaving from freeport and they were coming to florida. They should have gone to nassau. Apparently that is something that has been worked out with other ferries that were bringing people leaving the hurricane devastation. In this case, they did not do that. And these people were forced off the boat. Theres a big clarification around that. That was not necessarily customs and Border Protection, it was the boat not knowing where these people are supposed to go. In that case, it just shows the chaos that happens after a devastation like this. People fleeing, they dont have everything, theyre trying to survive. And without a proper message from the United States about whether or not were taking you in, how long you can stay here, and what you need to get here, it gets really confusing and just adds to the chaos. Any evidence, julia, that there are very bad people, very bad gang members, some very, very bad drug dealers coming through after the hurricane from the bahamas . Theres no evidence that ive heard or talking to my sources that this is something thats come up as a National Security threat in the meetings. The meetings theyre having right now at dhs are mainly about how they care for these people and vet them, of course, as they come in, as they would from any country. But no, i dont think theyre talking about the big gangs from the bahamas right now. So, julia, if that had happened in the state of florida, we would know that ron desantis, the governor, would be in charge of state efforts and you would fema and sba and the white house in charge of national efforts. Here, not so far from our shores at all, we have a humanitarian crisis. Look at those pictures. Its even worse than anything weve ever saw in Hurricane Katrina, especially for a couple of mississippi towns. As far as just everything flattened, what can you tell us what is the United States doing . Who is is there somebody in charge of the american governments efforts to bring relief to the people of the bahamas or are they just on their own . There have been u. S. Efforts to provide relief and that is ongoing, but i still go back to the fact that 1,500 survivors came in just over the weekend. The big question for these people in terms of being able to leave and to come here is whether they get something called temporary protective status. That is something that used to be a given in a situation like this, looking at that devastation. There are still People Living here who came here from haiti in the 2010 earthquake. These are things we gave to people fleeing ebola in central africa. This has been a common thing that the United States has granted to people fleeing mass devastation. And they are able to work here and to live schmear a lot of times, they build a community here. And in this case, because this administration has gone after temporary protective status and so many cases, this is now in question. Not only will they be able to come live here and work here, will they be able to come here at all . But, yes, aid is still outgoing. We have red cross. Obviously, its very different from if it was florida or if it was within the United States, but i do understand aid is going. Its a matter of how do you aid a community that is so devastated and help people who just need to escape to survive. Julia, thank you coming up on morning joe, evangelicals help the president win in 2016, but a lot has happened since then. Does the Trump Campaign have a reason to worry in 2020 . Morning joe is back in a moment. A moment people tell me all the time i have the craziest job, the riskiest job. The consequences underwater can escalate quickly. The next thing i know, she swam off with the camera. Its like, hey, thats mine i want to keep doing what i love. 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Among other things. I like em both. Favorite bible verse . I like em all. Yeah. All right. Very good. President trump appealing to christian evangelicals at his rally in North Carolina last night. Meanwhile, new reporting by Liberty University graduate in Politico Magazine details a loss of faith by the Schools Community in its president. Jerry falwell jr. , a prominent evangelical leader and supporter of President Trump. The article documents more than two dozen current and former highranking Liberty University officials and Close Associates of falwell opening up about what theyve experienced and why they dont think hes the right man to lead Liberty University or serve as a figurehead in the Christian Conservative movement. They depicted how falwell and his wife, becky, consolidated power at Liberty University and how falwell presides over a culture of selfdealing, directing University Resources into projects and real estate deals, in which his friends and family have stood to make personal financial gains. Liberty employees detailed instances of falwells behavior from partying at nightclubs to graphically discussing his sex life with employees to electioneering who makes uneasy those who remember the heyday of Jerry Falwell sr. , the schools founder and falwell jr. s father and moral majority. The author of the book, the immoral majority, why evangelicals chose political power over christian values. Writer, podcaster, and filmmaker, ben hal. Also with us, Republican Communications strategist and msnbc political contributor, rick tyler. Mike barnicle, elise jordan, karine jeanpierre, all back with us along with joe, willie, and me. This is quite a piece. It really is. Its a remarkable piece. It reminds me of a philadelphia enquirer piece i read back, i think in the late 80s about the ptl club and jim and Tammy Faye Bakker. Ben, i think we grew up in the same church. You grew up in the Southern Baptist church, as did i. But i think you may be too young to remember the rise and fall of the ptl club . I certainly dont. My grandmom watched them every day. But, man, what i read yesterday in Politico Magazine just smacks of jim and Tammy Faye Bakker and what we started hearing about the ptl club in charlotte back in the late 80s. Well, you know, i am a bit young to remember it as in watching the news and really knowing what was going on, but in the book, i actually did a Little Research on that and talked about all of the pentecostal scandals of the 80s. You know, it was usually sex and money and corruption and things like that. And whats interesting about Jerry Falwell jr. Is the more we find out about him, the more hes cut from the same cloth as trump, in terms of the way he views business and views using groups of people to get what he wants. Because the problem for me is, the moral majority under his father, Jerry Falwell sr. , the whole premise was that they wanted to bring a sense of morality to government and to politicians and regardless of party and so on, and the idea was that you dont separate that morality. Youre not pragmatic about it. Youre bringing your faith to washington. But what falwell jr. , whos now, you know, a selfappointed leader of the evangelical movement, what hes saying is, no, its transactional. Were not going to be concerned about that sort of thing anymore. What we want to do is get what we can out of this, regardless of who we have to support. And in the end, it creates a system in the Republican Party where pulling the lever for a republican is an act of service to god. And i find that really dangerous. Well, yeah. And rick tyler, ive been saying over the past month or two, i really think from talking to my republican friends, talking to all of my Southern Baptist friends that i grew up with, welcome to a lot of people, the conservatives need to be concerned about the undervote. There are people who will never vote for a democrat, never vote for a prochoice candidate. Donald trump is making it more and more difficult to vote for a republican candidate, not for the majority of evangelicals. And then you look at Jerry Falwell jr. , one of his closest allies, and suddenly this smacks of what happened with the nra, the selfdealing there and jim and tammy baker, this hodgepodge of scandals falling around Jerry Falwell jr. The story of Jerry Falwell jr. Stems from his father, jerry sr. , who started a Christian University in the middle of the woods in virginia, which was sort of a crazy idea. It was marginally successful under his father, and to defend jerry a little bit, jerry jr. , it went from having no endowment from being worth about consider 210 million to being worth about 3 billion. But really, its the story of cane and able, right . Cane got the university and abel got the church. But jerry sr. s vision of the church, just as ben was outlining, was to bring moral compass to the political world. That is not what Liberty University under engineer jerry doing. Its been described as by one of the senior that was reported by one of the senior officials at liberty is the university is really a hedge fund. Its a real estate hedge fund now, this will be look, a lot of universities do what Liberty University is doing and invest in a lot of companies. They have a return, but the line between a 501c3 and if they were a private, forprofit companies, they could do a lot of these things. But there has been poll manipulation that has happened in the last campaign to bring up trumps numbers. They manipulated a cnbc poll to make trump look like he was a great businessman. That was done in the runup to the campaign. That was done by the chief, jonjohn gauger, the chief tech person at Liberty University, which separately owns a polling company, which seems really inappropriate for a 501c3 to have this and those business relationships between Jerry Falwell jr. And a lot of his friends really blur the line of where there should be a fiduciary responsibility for a 501c3. They are using the money and the board of trustees is absent. And one final point. The what i read in the article is a lot of people would not go on the record at Liberty University. And they say theyre scared. And that really disturbed me, because as christians, as you know, joe, were not supposed to be scared or afraid. Were supposed to stand up to corruption at the cost of our own to sacrifice ourselves. And thats not being done. And that is per larallel to don trump and the Republican Party. Ben, im curious what youre hearing from evangelicals that you spoke to for your book about their thoughts on modern christianity and donald trump. I also grew up in the Southern Baptist church and theres always been plenty of hypocrisy to go around. And one of my favorite jokes is that if you go fishing, you take a baptist and a methodist, so all your beer wont get taken from if you had a baptist alone or a methodist alone. But how do you what are you hearing from evangelicals reconciling trumps behavior and their personal beliefs in this era . Well, its kind of all based on well, theres two things, really. Theres fear. Fear of loss, fear of losing, fear of, you know, their christian values being maligned or, you know, them being isolated and pushed out of the culture. The idea that their way of life is under attack and so on. And trump feeds on that. You heard that clip. I hadnt heard that clip before that you play before we this segment started. But, you know, you hear how hes talking. Hes saying that theres one party that is saved and one party thats not. And if you vote for the party thats not saved, then youre, you know, youre defying god, i guess. And so theres that aspect of it. But theres also selfinterest, essentially k essentially, which Jerry Falwell kind of exemplifies here, which is, everybody has a selfinterest. I have a selfinterest in eating so i dont starve to death. Theres nothing wrong with selfinterest. But when you are pretending or convincing yourself that these things youre doing in your selfinterest are for some greater good, like gods purposes, when really what you care about are standard republican things like tax cuts and regulation and things like that, youre deceiving yourself and people like Jerry Falwell are helping that happen. So the biggest problem for me and the thing that ive been trying to say to a lot of evangelicals who have this fear, this fear of losing the culture and et cetera, along with their, you know, stated republican desires, standard republican desirous, ive been saying, look, if youre a christian and you believe that, you know, believing in jesus and being saved is what you want for everyone, then the last thing that you should think is that you are the one whos suffering, if those values are being maligned. It is other people, it is people who arent coming to you, to god, to jesus, theyre the ones that are suffering. But theyre treating christian values like its some possession they have, that they put on a shelf and protect and, you know, hoard. Its so antithetical to my understanding of the gospel. Responding to that piece, Jerry Falwell responded to more than two dozen written questions defending his actions and criticizing the reporting of this article. Quote, i fear that the true information i am sharing in good faith will simply not make any difference and will only result in more questions, falwell said. He declined to answer subsequent questions. Ben howe, thank you very much. Do you want to respond to that, joe . No, no, no. Very quickly to ben, because were out of time, but very quickly, ben, what do you hear about the hypocrisy of people like falwell jr. And Franklin Graham and so many evangelicals that i knew during the age of bill clinton saying that an immoral man like that was unfit to be president. And now, that is all forgotten. And it doesnt matter about the man. It just matters about the power. Well, theyve got a lot of evangelical leaders like jeffreys and Pat Robertson assuring the flocks, assuring the congregations that there is a larger situation to contend with this, you know, loss of christian values, et cetera. And that theyre kind of preaching the idea that god needs us in order to you know, in other words, in the election, apparently, god was sitting there biting his fingernails worried about who i was going to vote for, because hillary clinton, of course, couldnt be used by god, only trump could. So theyre giving them the rationalizations. And i think a lot of them look in the mirror every day and feel just fine. And in 2020, i think their going to go for trump in the same record numbers. I mean, they even went for roy moore. There was a slight dip in the amount that came out, but they still voted for the republican 80 , because thats what theyve been told, voting republican is voting for god. The book is the immoral majority why evangelicals chose political power over christian values. Ben, thank you very much. And rick tyler, thank you, as well. Up next, antisemitism is on the rise and our next guest is tackling the question of how to fight it. That conversation is next on morning joe. Joe. I have the power to lower my blood sugar and a1c. Because i can still make my own insulin. And trulicity activates my body to release it like its supposed to. Trulicity is for people with type 2 diabetes. Its not insulin. I take it once a week. It starts acting in my body from the first dose. Trulicity isnt for people with type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. Dont take trulicity if youre allergic to it, you or your family have medullary thyroid cancer, or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2. Stop trulicity and call your doctor right away if you have an allergic reaction, a lump or swelling in your neck, or severe stomach pain. Serious side effects may include pancreatitis. Taking trulicity with a sulfonylurea or insulin increases low blood sugar risk. Side effects include nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, belly pain and decreased appetite, which lead to dehydration and may worsen kidney problems. I have it within me to lower my a1c. Ask your doctor about trulicity. Liberty mutual customizes your car insurance, hmm. Exactly. So you only pay for what you need. Nice. But, uh. Whats up with your. Partner . Not again. Limu thats your reflection. Only pay for what you need. Liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty you should be mad at tech that makes things worse. But youre not, because you have e trade whose tech makes life easier by automatically adding technical patterns on charts and helping you understand what they mean. Dont get mad, get e trade. But were also a company that controls hiv, fights cancer, repairs shattered bones, relieves depression, restores heart rhythms, helps you back from strokes, and keeps you healthy your whole life. From the day youre born we never stop taking care of you. In the past year there has been two separate incidents where white supremists have open fired in houses of judaism. And berry joins us now, the author of the new book just out today, how to fight antisemitism. Great to see you as always. Lets talk about the personal almost of the pittsburgh story for you. On the morning of october 27th i informs phoenix, arizona where i flew to give a speech about jewish topics and i woke up to a text on my familys text that said there is a shooter at tree of life. My dad was not there, and my dad knew everyone killed, i knew many of them, and a few minutes later my sister was listening on to the Police Scanner and she said that theyre saying the killer is yelling all of these jews need to die. I was raised on the mythology that this country is what Eastern European immigrants referred to as the golden land. There are no cats in america as that cartoon goes. But i really believed that. I thought even though i was called a dirty jew and there was random incidents and vestiges from an uglier time, i thought it was something that happened to jews of other places and certainly jews of the past thousands of years. I think a nazi who was 19 walked into a synagogue and murdered lori gilbert kay. What is different, bari, about this moment in time. This moment in our culture and our time. We were the country. There are 20,000 people that were shouting hitler, and saying that jews are the agents of k n communism, and that all existed. I think what were seeing now is a kind of dismantling of the moral guard rails. Trump is an enormous part of that. Trump, himself, there is a lot of debate in the Jews Community about whether or not he is good for the jews. Im with george will on this, trump is ringing bells that cannot be unrung. There is a reason people like Richard Spencer were drawn to hiss banner. It is the bankers and those keeping the working men and women down. Antisemitism is the ultimate. When youre pointing the finger at puppeteers and forces controlling society, people inclined to point to the jew are going to do that. So, bari, it has always been a part of antisemitism is always there just beneath the surface, and if you poke it in the proper way, it can erupt in pockets. What particular triggers do you think have been pulled in the course of the last decade in this country to result in what i think is a growing manifestation of antisemitism that was dormant a decade ago. I think a huge part of it is what i said before. The things that werent allowed to be said before, and now theyre being said. I spoke to a young man the other d day. They said what did you do to deserve it. That has become a normal thing here in new york city. When antisemitism comes to the jewish community, were all in agreement about what that is. It is very blunt in its aims. It saying kill all of the jews and then they try to do it. It is three men assaulted and it wasnt by white supree cyst. Jeremy corbin. We have these physical acts of violence. You go back, you can go back as many thousand years as you want to go back. Lets just talk about the turn of the century. The things that were said at elite colleges in middle earn eastern guys. Antisemitism has laid dormant since world war two. It is a growing hostility, i can find you a different case from an elite american university. Its every week. Okay, well i was trying to be every nuancing about it, but every week, a constant hostility toward jews. Yeah, and in that sense you have people who are trying to semiactivism. They are only against the dismantling of the jewish state that has the Largest Jewish Community of any place in the world. Somehow you never hear those people talking about the fact that if they really care about palestinian rights, there is half a million refugees living in leb non. Why do we never hear about that the if those people really care about palestinian rights. Im vn who is very critical of israel. I believe the netanyahu government is betraying Jewish Values when it closes up to people in hungary or brazil. When you want to single out israel as the most diabolical in the world. A country where there is north korea, china, pakistan, and israel is centuries 68 times between 2006 and 2016, and the other countries get zero, there is a conspiracy there. How to fight antisemitism, bari weiss, thank you for writing this. Were closing out the show, kareem you have the final word of the morning. I have been thinking about this a lot. I want to send prayers to the people of the bahamas, and you know everything theyre going through, the stories that we have been reading and what has been happening, 70,000 people are homeless, and just want to make sure that were thinking about them, praying for them, and doing everything that we can to help. Absolutely. So glad you brought that up. We have to and were going to use this show in the coming weeks to figure out who is helping and how we can help, how the morning Joe Community are help and make a difference in the lives of people going through a human calamity. It is incredible. The red cross, project hope, team rubicon, americares. We know they do great work. That does it for us this morning. Zrrchlgts hi the hi there, for the next 24 hours the nations political spotlight falls on a small section of North Carolina where the polls opened just a few hours ago. They could tell us whether or not President Trump still has the swing state