Charlottesville, virginia, mourners wrapped up a memorial for the young woman killed in saturdays violence. Family and friends spoke with tears in their eyes about the woman who called out hate by its name when she saw it. I think the reason that what happened to heather has struck a chord is because we know that what she did is achievable. We dont all have to die. We dont all have to sacrifice our lives. They tried to kill my child to shut her up. Well, guess what . You just magnified her. [ applause ] outside that ceremony, though, a nation rocked after watching a series of four different performances. A president who stumbles and struggles to call hate by its name, and has emboldened white nationalists. On tuesday, President Trump appeared to defend and quantitati equantitative indicate on behalf of white supremacists. Not all of those people were neonazis, believe me. Not all of those people were white supremacists, by any stretch. There was a group on this side, you can call them the left, youve just called them the left. That came violently attacking the other group. So you can say what you want. But thats the way it is. You had many people in that group other than neonazis and white nationalists, okay . And the other group also, you had some fine people. But you also had troublemakers and you see them come with the black outfits and with the helmets and with the baseball bats. You had a lot of bad you had a lot of bad people in the other group, too. Well start with three nbc reports. Kelly odonnell at trump tower. Capitol hill correspondent, kasie hunt. Maya rodriguez in charlottesville, where that memorial wrapped up a short time ago. Kelly o. , let me start with you. What are we hearing, if anything, from inside this white house about why the president of the United States would say this . Also some new defections from the economic council, i understand, as well. Reporter well, let me begin with that, craig. Because just in the last few minutes, we have heard from the ceo of the campbells soup company. Denise morrison, also stepping away from the president s vaunted council of american manufacturing, the defections have been coming quickly. She writes, racism and murder are unequivocally reprehensible and are not morally equivalent to anything else that happened in charlottesville. I believe the president should have been and still needs to be unambiguous on that point. Also earlier today, the ceo of the 3m company also dropping out. So some people whose opinions and whose cooperation and help the president values most, people from the ceo world, the business world, really strongly rejecting his words, his absence of handling this in a way they would find acceptable. And this is a big defection for the president. The white house is not yet responding to the specifics here. We did hear the president , when given a chance yesterday, to respond to some of the initial defections. He said that they were embarrassed by the fact that these ceos in the president s judgment, had too many of their jobs being handled overseas and not in the United States. Thats the kind of answer the president put forward on that. That it was somehow embarrassment about their own companies. Which is a very reactive, sort of classic donald trump slap back at someone who challenges him. The white house today, ive asked repeatedly for responses about some of these new defections. We have not been hearing anythi anythi specific. In the next hour we think he will be leaving trump tower to return to his home in new jersey. At this point, there arent any Public Events for the president today. We also can tell you he will be going to camp david on friday, with the Vice President , to have some meetings and get back to the story we thought was going to dominate august, north korea and security in asia. So there are those in the white house and associated with white house who have been in the president s circle of influence and friends, even prior to his time in office who have been defending themselves against criticism coming forward for the president s remarks. The president himself through twitter today did acknowledge the Memorial Service that is going on earlier today to celebrate the life of Heather Heyer. He called her beautiful and incredible. Truly special young woman. And that she will be remembered by all. So the president did acknowledge the loss of Heather Heyer and those who came together to mourn her passing and to celebrate her life and her mission and her contribution in standing up as she did that cost her so dearly and those who love her. Kelly odonnell, the president s Strategic Policy council is disbanding. This is a group of Business Leaders. What more do we know about that . Again, this Strategic Policy council . Reporter well, our colleagues at cnbc would certainly be well wired in to know this information. There is sort of a Critical Mass when you have prominent names stepping away, that it was going to perhaps collapse from a lack of support. By simply disbanding it, that perhaps stops this attrition that creates new embarrassment for the president hour by hour. So deferring to our colleagues at cnbc, their reporting says this is is disbanded. That is a real blow to a ceo president , a business president who had touted his ability to bring the best minds of the private sector to try to assist in government, to work on regulation, to work on bringing manufacturing back to the United States. What a blow. What a price for this president , perhaps unforeseen by him, with some of the comments hes made there would be a cost like this to administration and circle of friendships and relationships, as well. Craig . Kelly o. , joining us from trump tower. Ali velshi, our man on business, will join us in a moment to talk more about this disbanding of the strategic initiative. Kasie, let me come to you now. Lots of response coming in from capitol hill. We have not heard, however, from Senate Majority leader, mitch mcconnell, just yet. What more do we know about the response coming out of washington . Reporter well, craig, we have in the last hour or so gotten reaction from the Senate Majority leader. And he talked in a paper statement about some potential conflict going on in lexington, kentucky, where there are some confederate monuments that officials are talking about removing. So there is the prospect of potentially violence there. And, of course, the majority leaders home state. He denounced any equivocation on racism on neonazis. But he did not mention President Trump by name in that statement. He said, of course, racism, bigotry, are unacceptable. But we are getting, as you point out, reaction from across the spectrum here. A notable joint statement from the former president s bush. Bush 41 and 43. They say america must always reject racial bigotry, antisemitism and hatred in all forms. They cite the declaration of independence which says we are all created equal and endowed by our creator by unalienable rights, and they said they believe those truths to be everlasting. So, again, a very rare statement for two former president s, of course, father and son, to put out Something Like that. And the other thing i want to highlight, craig, is Vice President mike pence, who is on a foreign trip through latin and south america, commented on charlottesville just moments ago. I want to take a look at that. What happened in charlottesville was a tragedy. And the president has been clear on this tragedy, and so have i. I spoke at length about this heartbreaking situation on sunday night. In columbia. And i stand with the president , and i stand by those words. But today, while im here in chile, our hearts are in charlottesville. So some emotional words there from the Vice President about the events that have gone on here today, craig. Kasie hunt, thank you. Maya rodriguez standing by for us there in charlottesville, where, again, that Memorial Service just wrapping up for Heather Heyer. Maia, whats the scene there . Reporter well, we still have a lot of people who are at that Memorial Service going up and down the pedestrian mall here. What we saw today were family, friends, coworkers, all saying the same thing. Heather heyer was larger than life. She brought joy to everyone that she met. She fought for fairness, both in her professional and in her personal life. We also heard from susan bro, her mother, who spoke so eloquently right after her daughter died. Take a listen to what her parents had to say today. You poke that finger at yourself like heather would have done, and you make it happen. You take that extra step. You find a way to make a difference in the world. For my part, we just need to stop all this stuff and just forgive each other. I think thats what the lord would want us to do. Is to stop just love one another. Reporter now, heathers favorite color was purple. And here at the memorial, it was just a sea of purple. Her family had asked mourners to wear that color in their daughters honor. Craig . Maya rodriguez for us there in charlottesville. Thanks to you. Cnbcs larry kudlow is here, and formal economic adviser to President Trump. Youve known the president for a long time. Reverend al sharpton, host of politics nation on msnbc and president of the National Action network. Also known the president for a very long time. Let me start with you. Because heathers mother there in the Memorial Service called for righteous action. Where do we go from here . I think we go to righteous action. I think that we have a moral obligation to make it very clear, this nation will not tolerate racism, naziism and violence that is associated with it. I think that we are seeing the mainstreaming of some of these hate groups, and i think weve got to stand up against it. And what is so appalling to many of us is that the statement that the mother of heather made today is what we would have expected a president of the United States to say. Rather than trying to in some way equalize those that were protesting hate with those that went there with their pronounced objective of saying that they wanted to stand by. Chanting with torches against jews and others is nowhere near equal those that are saying, no, we want a confederate statue to remain down. I think you cannot have a moral equivalence implied or, in fact, stated. Larry, i think for a lot of folks i agree. Can i just say go ahead. Reverend al, im a friend and admirer. Look, youre right. There cannot be a moral equivalent. I get that. I believe, however ambiguous it may sometimes appear in the heat of the news conferences, that President Trump agrees with that, too. There is no room in the Republican Party or the conservative party or, if you ask me, any party, for this kind of White Supremacy bigotry, hatred. Dogwhistling, winking and nodding. Whatever you want to call it. Years ago, my dear friend and mentor, the late william f. Buckley, read the John Birchers out of the conservative movement. Everybody in the Republican Party and the conservative party has to do likewise with this crazy group. And i think trump stands 100 behind that. I dont think theres any moral equivalency. But larry but there was violence on both sides. And to answer your question to reverend al. I dont know what righteous action means. What i would like to see is what that gentleman said with respect to forgiveness, i would like to see men and women of goodwill, and i would like to see civility to overcome these terrible spots in american society. If we work together, we can deal with that. But you can appreciate for a lot of folks in this country, this isnt about just what happened yesterday. This is a president in the face of the birther movement, a president who did this bizarre song and dance with david duke, where he wouldnt really disavow. For a lot of folks, they are quite suspicious of this president s motivations. I understand that. And and why shouldnt they be . Im not going to persuade all of them. But i will sa this. Many times during the campaign its funny, i was thumbing through some stuff last night. Many times during the campaign, including the primaries, going back to the gop primaries, donald trump was absolutely clear that he disavowed david duke, white supremacists, neonazis and any of that stuff. Many times. But at first he acted as if he didnt know what it was. Hes not a professional politician. You said that we both have known him differently. Yeah. And clearly, ive marched on him, and ive met with him. I attacked him for the birther movement. Saying that it was clearly had racial implications rooted in that. He and i met on it. He says, youre calling me a racist. I said, no, what youre doing is racial. Because his escape exit is always call me a name and he defends the name and gets two or three black athletes to come out and say im not a racist. So thats a trap. He knows from my own meetings with him the implications of when you are not unequivocal. We had this argument in his office several years ago about birtherism. He i dont care if its in the heat of a press conference or not, he has already been told by people, youve got to to be clear and unequivocal. And he was not yesterday. And talking about forgiveness, yes, i believe in forgiveness. A white male stabbed me leading a march in bensonhurst. You cant forgive an unacknowledged sin. I think he did acknowledge that. Yesterday . By equally saying there were fine people on both sides . Im sorry, i think he began to saturday. But it was an incomplete statement. I agree with that. I think monday his statement was terrific. Everything you and i want him to say. I think yesterday it was caught up in a very bizarre spontaneous press conference. My own view is, he would have been better off pushing the infrastructure package, rather than being pushed. But i wouldnt youre reading into it. Why does he have that problem . Youre reading things into it. Hes so blunt and so candid, he calls people names, why is he so ambiguous other than being as you know, when we were talking about this, sometimes donald trump look, hes the president. Im not. Its his guy. Sometimes if you attack him, he will attack back, mercilessly. Sometimes that works. Even at the expense of appearing to side with white nationalists. He never i have to make this so clear. He has never sided with white nationalists, nor have i, nor have any conservatives. Why people on both sides. What fine people go to this town and stands and says things like they said about jews and blacks. These are not his people. But hes the you he, not me, not you. He said the fine people on both sides. Talking about that demonstration. Fine people dont go and do the things that those people if he had any message at all yesterday, he was trying to make the point, a point that was reported in the New York Times and elsewhere, that the antifa movement, a movement against the u. S. Government, always ready to mix it up with militaricy and violence. They were in charlottesville. And they had been knocking around on College Campuses and elsewhere. They didnt kill anyone. Youre correct, okay . I agree with that. Factually. But they were trying to create injury and violence. And robert e. Lee tried to overthrow the government. Thats who they were there defending. Robert e. Lee led a Confederate Army to overthrow the union and to preserve slavery. Reverend al, im opposed to slavery. You know that. I want to talk about the other aspect we dont have enough time to do robert e. Lee. No, we do not. But i do want to bring in al ali velshi. What can you tell us about this . Who are these guys . Well, it sort of doesnt matter any more, because both the strategic ceo council and the Manufacturing Council have been disbanded by President Trump. Let me give you the latest news. Im trying to pull up the tweet. President trump has done it by tweet. Where he says, rather than putting pressure on the Business People of the Manufacturing Council and strategy and policy forum, i am ending both. Thank you all. Now, moments before that, we had seen the resignation of the ceo of campbells soup, who put out a very, very harsh statement about the president s comments and about bigotry and all of these things. And the also we saw resignation of the ceo of 3m. So both of them have pulled out of the council. The president now announcing both are ended. Now, there is some dispute as to what got them to end. Because with the strategic council, there are two different councils. They both have got a lot of ceos on them. With the strategic council, we understand there was a meeting and the members, the ceos there, were coming forward with an answer. So were not quite sure whether they made the decision and told the president and he has announced or how this has all come together. Stephanie ruhle is working on that right now to find out. The bottom line, the pressure from the public on these ceos, the pressure from their boards, the pressure from their shareholders and the pressure from their workers and the embarrassment of being associated with President Trump has caused many of them i would have guessed that most of them would have been gone in the next 24 hours or so after that remarkable display by the president less than 24 hours ago. I was interested in your conversation, craig, because larry kudlow yesterday said the left was putting a noose around the president s neck. So hearing the defense from larry was interesting. But the bottom line is, the Business Community isnt interested in that kind of talk. They dont want to be near President Trump. Larry, i would imagine a noose around i think that thats not the kind of expression you want to bring up while defending a slave owner. That is correct. As i said, three times on the air yesterday. Please report this. I said that was a wrong statement. That i shouldnt have gone there. Given this what i am saying, though, is that i think the liberal our friends in the liberal media, and i have many, will not let go of anything donald trump says. It doesnt just seem to be friends in the liberal i regret that comment. Larry, youre dealing with ceos of companies that were criticized for being on the council. They have stood up and said the racial inferences and racism. Youre dealing with republican members of congress. This is not just liberals or those of us considered on the left. This is disgusting to everyone. And talking about keep bringing it up, it was donald trump that was having an Infrastructure Press conference. Thats right. And decided to go out of his way to defend these people and equalize them with the protesters. He brought it back up. And were responding to him bringing it back up. That is correct. I would prefer, as i said before, he stay on infrastructure. Its a key part of his platform. The fact were seeing so many and taxes and regulations. The fact were seeing so many ceos, larry reverend al is right. I think its unfortunate, okay . I think mr. Trump should have handled this press conference yesterday differently. I think he probably should have reached out. I think hes got to get along with ceos, absolutely. On the other hand, let me just say this. Most of those gentlemen there was a big piece in the paper yesterday david ab knee and fred smith, u. P. S. And fedex, two big rivals, coming together to write a piece, supporting trumps policies. I think people agree with his policies, while they may not agree with all he says. I will also add this point. Trumps support has always been among the small Business Community, not the business round table community. Although the round table has supported his policies. But hes really the spokesperson of the small Business Community. I want to get this darn tax cut passed. It will help businesses large and small. It will help middle class individuals. It will help the economy grow 4 . I would rather not larry, youve got to be kidding. Youve got to be kidding, larry. As i said, i will grow very big afro before the economy grows 4 . Youve got to be kidding me. Im not kidding, im quite serious. We have seen it before. Both fred smith larry his legislative agenda right now is nonexistent. Thats right. Look, theyre pushing for tax cuts. He can push whatever he wants. Thats a forecast. Im not going to im an optimist. Ive got a forecast to be 15 pounds lighter. It aint gonna happen. Let me push back on something else. Name the Small Businesses in new york. Im a new yorker. That he has helped as the head of the Trump Organization. He has not been involved in helping to build up Small Businesses. We brought black businessmen to him, latino businessmen to him. He did not give sub contracts to. I dont know one black or brown executive that ive ever met that worked in the Trump Organization at a higher level. So hes been an outsider. Hes an out of borough guy. But he has not been an inclusive guy in business, and hes demonstrated that with his rhetoric as president and his policies. I dont want to disagree with reverend als facts, okay . Im just going to say mr. Trump tells a much different story, that he employed tens of thousands of workers. He practically redid the manhattan skyline. And they were minority groups, hispanic groups. Minority groups that did what . That worked on these construction sites, for heaven sakes. They may have been hired by some subcontractors. Whats wrong with that . Hes a job creator. You would have said i would also make sure that contracts go to minority firms. Twothirds of new york is black and latino. You would have made sure you had an inclusive executive csuite. Come on, hes in new york, and hes never i cant name one. I can. You are the expert in finance. I can. Name me one black executive in the history of Trump Organization. I have to go through that. He would give you a different opinion. I im not talking about opinion. Im talking about a fact. With respect to 4 growth, i was just mocked or something you werent mocked. I mocked myself. I said if it happens, im going to grow an afro. They have nothing to get us there. Larry, hold on hold on, larry, hold on. That is double what our longterm growth is. So thats a very, very heavy lift. You are talking about doubling the output of the United States economy without any plan to do so right now. Can i respond to that . The longterm growth of the United States economy from 1950 to 2000 1950 to 2000, 3. 5 . Why dont we go from 1970 to 2015. You need to go from the year 2000 to 2016, and you will see the 2 growth. That is correct. But we can right. Thats the world were in. Why . We can revert back if we have better tax incentives, more competitive business environment. Larry, what was different about 1950 . What was different about 1950 . Take two what was different about it . What was happening in 1950 that wasnt happening now, larry . You can keep on talking if you want. What was different in 1950 . Were we building highways in america . Trump wants ali velshi. He just keeps saying it, craig. He keeps talking about it. There are actual facts here. You cannot compare 2017 to 1950. Absolutely not. Lets take it here. Kelly odonnell, im going to bring you back into the conversation here. The president again tweeting out that he is ending the Manufacturing Council, ending this strategy and policy forum, as well. Letting us know via twitter. Are we hearing anything else from this administration on the record officially about this, kelly o. . Reporter we have not. This has been a day frustrating for reporters, trying to get additional comment and insight from those here at trump tower who will working alongside the president and the president really speaking in his own voice today, using twitter as we had seen him do so many times. I know youve already referred to the tweet, but rather than putting pressure on the Business People of the Manufacturing Council and strategy and policy forum, i am ending both. Thank you all, says the president. So by taking this step, which is really a an opportunity for the president to sort of halt the embarrassment, to stop the defections, to as he puts it, take pressure off the Business People, but also pressure off of himself. With each prominent name and big company, brand names that are a huge part of American Life that we have been talking about over these last couple of days, the list of people removing themselves and in doing so usually with a statement very specifically critiquing and condemning the president s words or his lack of responding in a way they feel meets their values for their companies and themselves as individuals, the president taking the step to simply stop the council, stop the community of Business Leaders that he has enjoyed bringing into the white house for grand photo ops and talking about the sort of insight they would have. So instead of keeping that going, he is ending it himself, and with that ends at least the stream of press releases from some of the Corporate Giants responding to the president. Kelly odonnell there at trump tower. Kelly o. , thank you. Larry kudlow, thank you for coming by. Reverend al, always appreciate your insight. Can i get a handshake . Yeah. And i would hope you would tell mr. Trump that what hes done has been disgraceful to most americans. I will pass that view along. He knows you very well. And he knows ive told him that very much in person. Ali velshi, thank you, as well, sir, for helping us die just that breaking news. Larry kudlow would like to speak to you outside. Monumental anger. Cities and states around this country faced with new demands to remove confederate monuments following the deadly clashes in charlottesville. We will go to memphis, where protests over the statues got heated overnight. In baltimore, statues taken down. How are city and state legislators reacting to this monument movement, and the bitter protests that have followed . Ill talk to the mayor of my hometown, columbia, South Carolina. But first, one tennessee residents reaction to President Trumps comments. Its no reason for him to say, you know, both sides are guilty when its only one side thats at fault right now. And thats White Supremacy. 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You know, you really do have to ask yourself, where does it stop . Never mind the actual conflating there of civil war generals with revolutionary war generals. President trump addressing the movement to take down monuments honoring the confederacy around the nation. Last night alone. And heres some video from memphis, tennessee, where protesters surrounded this Jefferson Davis statue, calling for its removal. Some even spitting on the memorial to the confederacy president there in memphis. Msnbc is live in memphis this afternoon with the latest on whats happening there. Reporter craig, i was here last night when these anti monument protesters surrounded the statue of Jefferson Davis mi behind me. You mentioned some were spitting at the statue. I do have to note, others were protesting peacefully, some even brought their children and families. I just got off the phone with these anti monument protesters from last night, and they tell me they were encouraged by what they saw in baltimore overnight. The removal of this of these confederate monuments in baltimore. They feel they have momentum right now, and they are pressuring the mayor of memphis to remove statues like the one behind me from public parks. I also spoke to the other side, these counterprotesters who want to preserve the monuments, and this is what they told me about President Trumps remarks about them. No, what im tired of is being portrayed as kkk or white supremacist simply because im a white guy that wants to preserve my heritage. I am none of those. People who work with are black, the community i work in is black. Im not racist. I do want to preserve my heritage. And i dont want to see them pull down monuments with rope and call us kkk. Because theyre the ones whose message is aligned. Reporter the anti monument protesters are expected to be holding a small gathering here, this time in front of city hall. They will be there with a list of demands for the mayor and a legal battle here is brewing in memphis, craig, about the removal of these statues. Something other cities across the country are grappling with. Marianna intenso, thank you. South carolina removed a Confederate Flag from its statehouse dome. The mayor for the capitol, the city of columbia, says there is more work to be done. That mayor is Steve Benjamin and joins me. Good to see you, sir. Thanks for your time. Hey, its always good to see you, friend. Lets start with President Trumps comments yesterday. Your reaction to the president saying if we take down these confederate memorials, it could lead to taking down other statues, honoring the nations founding fathers. Craig, his comments were regrettable, and i think ignorant of history. To be honest with you. He referred to a number of leaders of the Confederate States of america as if they were leaders of the United States of america. George washington, Thomas Jefferson, obviously, were two president s. And it comes with the recognition and acceptance that the history of our country was born in the original sin of human shadow slavery, followed the challenges that we face in dealing with the Aboriginal People of this land. And over the course of our history, we have had some very difficult times, becoming this diverse country that we are now. Columbia, your hometown. And were so proud of you. Is now home to people from 200 different countries. We speak 90 different languages. We are proud of the diversity and also the inclusive way in which we have embraced who we are as americans. And we have to look forward. And what i would say to the president , and anyone else in public life and authority regardless of what level of government or whether youre an elected official or not, is that all we have to do is look back. Lets study the end trails of historians, anthropologists. And we have the pressurence of hindsight. Our job is to look forward. Lets forge a new bold path forward that focuses again on the real issues facing us. Where the president has us distracted on these divisive, shiny objects in the corner. And in the meantime, his administration is currently d dismantling environmental regulations. Were not focusing on infrastructure that could deliver millions of new jobs and trillions of dollars in infrastructure to make our communities safer. Were focused on this nonsense, because we dont have a leader who is focused on bringing us together. Mayor benjamin, the Southern Poverty Law Center found that at least 1,500 symbols of the confederacy exist in public spaces all over this country, most of those are in the former Confederate States. Most were actually built during the early jim crow era, long after the civil war was over. What should be done with these confederate statues that exist all over the country . Well, i think its important, you know, here in our state, were still a state with a very strong legislature and it presents you with a period of reflection. I am proud of the people of South Carolina after the incredible tragedy in charlottesvill charlottesville. The people came together. Republicans and democrats, independents, people of all faiths and backgrounds and decided we were going to peacefully remove the flag from our state capitol. Its an issue that tortured this state, tortured economic development, our cultural growth for several years. And we were able to do it, and able to do it peacefully. As you get into the monuments only a few monuments on the capitol one, general wade hampton. Two small references to robert e. Lee and Jefferson Davis. Obviously, the one that usually gets most attention is actually, as you reference, a pitchfork, ben tillman, former populous demands the most attention. I raised some questions yesterday about marian sims, who was not a soldier, but a scientist in object star trek particulars who used his authority and power to torture dozens of enslaved women and children as he perfected his craft in gynecology. And i dont believe that a monument to him should be standing here in columbia, South Carolina, in montgomery, alabama, or in new york city. I find it wholly offensive on a number of different levels. I believe there is a period of selfreflection, a thoughtful process, that requires people to come together. We have to make sure that those of us who want to see good things happen, that we enforce a good, strong, positive dialogue. You cant meet hate with hate. Youve got to meet hate with love and grace and mercy. And encourage people to talk and dialogue on levels we all can communicate. Mayor Steve Benjamin, mayor of columbia, South Carolina. Please tell everyone hello. Good to see you. Come home soon. Thank you. The Washington PostEditorial Board says President Trump has all but declared that he has the backs of white supremacists. So how are those white supremacists, those white nationalists reacting . Our Jacob Soboroff goes oneonone. And President Trump disbanding two Advisory Councils as more Business Leaders announce their departure. Ill talk with Michael Steele about that and more, right after this. On purchases she makes from that airline. Whatd you earn double miles on, please . Ugh. Thats unfortunate. Theres a better option. The capital one venture card. With venture, you earn unlimited double miles on every purchase, everywhere, every day. Not just airline purchases. Seems like a nobrainer. 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Xeljanz can reduce the symptoms of ra, even without methotrexate, and is also available in a oncedaily pill. Ask about xeljanz xr. Its looking up, not down. Ng fits being in motion. Boost® high protein its intelligent nutrition with 15 grams of protein and 26 vitamins and minerals. Boost® the number one high protein complete nutritional drink. [car tires screech] [bell rings] it was love at first touch met and all you wanted to do was surround them in comfort and protection thats why only pampers swaddlers is the 1 choice of hospitals to wrap your baby in blanketlike softness and premium protection mom oh hi baby so all they feel is love wishing you love, sleep and play. Pampers President Trumps remarks yesterday getting a lot of backlash, but the reception isnt all negative, believe it or not. Msnbcs Jacob Soboroff sat down with a selfproclaimed white nationalists after yesterdays impromptu press conference. Jacob, what did he tell you . Yeah, craig, i remember during the campaign we talked about this guy, William Johnson, selfproclaimed behin selfproclaim selfproclaim selfproclaim selfproclaim selfproclaimed white nationalist. Now it is President Trump making a lot of noise and William Johnson is absolutely overjoyed. Take a look at this. Okay. So you have not seen this full thing today, right . That is correct. Here we go. You had a group on one side that was mad and you had a group on the other side that was also very, very bad. Very good. Thats exactly true. I wonder, is it George Washington next week . Wow. That is the most insightful comment ive heard. Thats exactly true. No politician would ever say that, but its true. I think theres blame on both sides. And i have no doubt about it. And you dont have any doubt about it either. He is the most honest president since George Washington, and the cherry tree. Just watching all of this, and hearing trump say all of that today, you got visibly excited. Yes. That is an honest man saying what he believes in his heart. And do you believe that donald trump saying things like that will ultimately bring America Closer to your goal of a white ethno state . Well, i think that America Needs to take a different direction. Whether it needs to come into my direction, i dont know. We have a festering racial problem thats only going to get worse. I think the only solution is separation. But there may be another solution. And donald trump is going to, i think, bring us help us overcome the racial divide. I think that he will encourage fairminded, deepthinking people to realize that separation is the only way we can achieve racial goals. Is there going to be more demonstrations, bigger demonstrations, more solidarity now than ever before because of what he had to say . I think saturday was a big, big setback because of the thing that man did to kill that beautiful woman. So i think there is going to be a setback. But eventually, i believe that there will be more meetings and gatherings. That may be six months down the road. Would you all be here today and as emboldened as you are today without donald trump . Well, ive been emboldened for 35 years, but i think the rank and File American is becoming more emboldened. To be brought of their heritage, whether it is white, confederacy, whatever it is. To be proud youre white and to group together and want to support white issues. It will come as no surprise, craig, the Southern Poverty Law Center calls johnson an extremist. At one point he proposed a constitutional amendment to deport all nonwhite people in the United States. Hes absolutely thrilled by what donald trump has said. He credits donald trump. For people like him, just being over the moon. Of Jacob Soboroff in los angeles with what at first glance appeared to be a chappelle show sketch, but it was not. No, sir. Nbcs Morgan Radford is here now with a look at some of the criticism the president is getting overseas, abroad. What are you seeing, what are you hearing . Well, craig, both here and abroad, the political reaction has been really, really swift. And most leaders have been joining into whats really been this global criticism of the president. All the way from europe and some of our closest allies to iran. I want to show you what irans Supreme Leader put up today on twitter. He put up this photo with him holding a young black child, and he wrote, if the u. S. Has any power, they better manage their country, tackle White Supremacy rather than meddle in nations affairs. This isnt the first time he has jumped in and commented on Race Relations. He retweeted black lives matter during the spate of shootings of unarmed black men. The truth is, craig, ive been following this story for a while. If you really look at the data, it reveals some of the feels in this country about race that were bubbling up beneath the surface before charlottesville. So i want to show you this one poll we found that shows nearly three quarters of americans feel like Race Relations now are worse than they were in the 90s. And, of course, that was after the o. J. Simpson verdict, and that was after the rodney king riots. So thats kind of a striking sense of the american psyche. And also more shockingly, we found in a second poll that whites see anti white bias now in our country as more prevalent than anti black bias. So it really shows you that were in this moment where our country is acknowledging this critical space were in, and how were going to define tolerance and how were going to name it, moving forward. Morgan radford. Thank you for that. More, much more, on this breaking news. Defections from president s Advisory Councils, the president disbanding two of those councils. Some people saying they were stunned when the president when rogue at that presser yesterday, but is that true . When a critical patient is far from the hospital, the hospital must come to the patient. Stay with me, mr. Parker. The at t network is helping First Responders connect with medical teams in near real time. Stay with me, mr. Parker. Saving time when it matters most. Stay with me, mrs. Parker. Thats the power of and. Looking for a hotel that fits. Whoooo. Your budget . Tripadvisor now searches over. 200 sites to find you the. Hotel you want at the lowest price. Grazi, gino find a price that fits. Tripadvisor. Four seconds on the clock, championship on the line. Erin the sharpshooter shanahan fakes left. Shes outside of the key, she shoots. She scores uh. Yes, erin, it is great time to score a deal. We need to make room for the 2018 models. Relive the thrill of beating the clock. The volkswagen model year end event. Hurry in for a 1,000 apr bonus and 0 apr for 60 months on a new 2017 jetta or passat. Were going to turn back to the breaking news we received at the top of the hour. The president is disbanding his two councils including the Manufacturing Council. My guests are joining me now and includes Michael Steele and michelle, mr. Steele let me start with you here in the studio. Two Advisory Councils being dissolved in the last few hours. Are we starting to see folks jump off of the ship . Is that what this is . Yeah, folks reach a level they can tolerate, and the way the president has come out in the last few days really put people off. They werent happy with the response on saturday. Got to a better space on monday, and then of course yesterday he throws it all out and a lot of these individuals, particularly on these councils that have, you know other enterprises, customers, clients, shareholders, board members, they have to answer to them and they dont want that taint. They dont want to be associated with that white house or process that spills into racism. Theyre going to cut their losses. That doesnt mean they wont be involved in helping move the agenda on the hill, but they wont be doing it to these councils. What are you hearing from your sources . I have talked to so many republicans today and last night that are wondering whether or not they can even stay with the party. I spoke to someone today who was a vocal supporter of trump and he said today is the day i can no longer support the president. I believe in the policies, the agenda items, i just morally cannot back him and he will imperil the republican agenda. So it is a good job of moving the legislative agenda. We know in two weeks when republicans come back, or in one week when they come back while we might want to move on to tax reform, every member of the house and senate will be asked about this and whether or not they can continue to support this president. My reporting shows a lot of people saying no. Can the president of the United States effectively destroy the Republican Party . Can effectively . This bed was being made 234in t 2015 and 2016 cycle. This goes to the bone for a lot of republicans. Its not part of our history, its a history that we have tried to avoid in last hundred or so years. So the reality for republicans is, youre coming face to face with a president who is aligning himself at least through his messaging and his language with part of the countrys history that we repudiated. That is a problem long term. Are you still a republican . Absolutely. The fight is worth the fight for me. Calling out the ugly that this administration wants to engage in is important. How can the president pass reform and infrastructure. I think there are a lot of people who will sorry, it is sec k echoing in my ear. People say they will try to support the president on the policies they care about, but stay away from the president on things like this. This is not partisan. This is a moment where this is about our civilization. This is about what kind of society and culture do we want to have. If we come together regardless of party and say we dont have confidence in this president because he is standing with people with a confederacy. People that support the confederacy, that support naziism, and jim crow in the 1960s, this is not just about our partisan nature, its about who we are as americans and what we want in a country going forward. The white house circulated these talking points saying the president is entirely correct, acted inappropriately and bears some responsibility. Your colleagues reported that ivanka trump and Jared Kushner urged him to take a more moderate stance but they were on vacation at this critical moment. What continues to distract me as odd about all of this is that the president has jewish grandchildren. What are you hearing about whether or not they still have the ear of dad . What im hearing from my sources is that while they while ivanka and jared want to feel like there is a moderating force, donald trump is driving the ship, he has always been the head of his own messaging. He pushed back the chief of staff. He is saying yes, you might be able to have a jewish daughter or a couple black friends, but when it comes to issues of racial justice. To december avowed white supremacist, he is saying there are good people that people were holding flames and shouting about jews. So the people i know are not trying to back the president in any way, shape, or form. Thank you to my guests. That wraps thup hour of msnbc live. Katie turr picking things up from here. 11 a. M. Out west, 2 00 p. M. In the east. A Public Service for Heather Heyer has just concluded. She was killed when a man rammed his car into a crowd of protestors in charlottesville, north carolina. Our country is in i think there is blame on both sides. You look at both sides, i think there is blame on both sides. There are not two sides in this. They are hideous, hateful menmys of