Minister a victory three weeks before israelis go to the polls there to determine who should remain in power. And a couple days before netanyahu is set to come here for a meeting with President Trump at the white house. That meeting is scheduled for early next week. So President Trump as we know enjoyed sky high Approval Ratings in israel. His embrace of netanyahu, this overture certainly boosts netanyahus standing and could determine the outcome of the election. President trump was asked about this earlier today, he says he sees it a little differently, take a look. This is sovereignty security and regional security. Its not about netanyahus reelection. I wouldnt even know about that. I have no idea. I hear hes doing okay. Reporter combined with the embassy move to jerusalem, this is the latest unilateral controversial move by the president that bucks longstanding u. S. Policy. Jeff bennett there at the white house, thank you. The president also talking about Robert Muellers report as washington is on the watch and wait period. For that, heres what he had to say. Were going to see what happens. Its going to be very interesting but well see what happens. There was no collusion. There was no obstruction. Everybody knows it. Its all a big hoax. Its like a witch hunt, all a big hoax. Well see what happens. I know the attorney general, highly respected. Ultimately will make a decision. Let me go now to Andrea Mitchell who is live in ju jerusal jerusalem. The president being pushed about his decision as it relates to israel. Tell us how its being received there and what youve heard from your several days on the ground. Reporter people here are very, very happy about this. This cuts across all political lines in israel. They feel very much under pressure by iranian militants who have been rocketing them from the golan heights. There was no reason for this other than netanyahu who is up for reelection. There was a lot of discussion about it went to secretary of state pompeo and the secretary of state here. They had a heads up on this, the president tweeted his decision to unilateral say that israel has sovereignly over the golan, they took that land in 1967, ten years later annexed it. Its been under u. N. Monitoring and is considered under International Law and u. N. Resolutions to be not israels property. Still to be negotiated. But for all intents and purposes, israel does have custody of that land and see president said he was recognizing that fact. He said with some exaggeration, shall we say, that every other president wanted to do this. This is what he told Maria Bartiromo on fox business. Its something he wanted to do and its very impactful on netanyahus election chances. Andrea mitchell live for us in jerusalem. A quick trip down memory lane. Flashback to 2015. President obama also had the opportunity to meet with netanyahu before israeli elections. He said im declining to meet with him simply because our general policy is we dont meet with any world leader two weeks before their election. Bill crystal director of the Advocacy Group defending democracy is here. Next we can, you know who is going to be at it white house, benjamin netanyahu. It makes sense to recognize israels sovereignty, its 52 years and id say israeli control of the golan has helped stability and hasnt hurt it. Doing it two or three weeks before an israeli election makes one wonder whether this is a judgment based on sensible foreign policy, whats in the interest of israel, the u. S. , and the region. For me, that moment on the white house lawn this morning is really revealing and pretty appalling. When President Trump says the democrats, i think, are antijewish. I mean, i am pretty strongly pro israel. Ive criticized president obamas israel policies. Ive been critical, very critical of antisemites on right and left. I think i have some standing to say for the president of the United States to say one of the two Major National parties in the country is antijewish. That is deeply irresponsible. Somewhat dangerous i think. Is that what our politics is now going to go . Were going to accuse a party that disagrees with you on policy issues or has fringe elements that are antijewish, that were going fto accuse the entire party for being mahostil to a religion . Its another thing to accuse a Major National party of being anti a certain religion. The president knows how upsetting it is to some people. He has come under fire before, but here he is repeating it, actively coming out and bringing it up in a proactive way. He wants to lean into this fight as he is in so many fights right now. Reporter its right. He got criticism after his comments about john mccain, and then said them again unprompted at his speech at the tank factory this week. This is clearly an issue he cares about. I think hes got an eye on two elections with that. One, hes got an eye on Prime Minister netanyahus election and he wants them to win. Theyre close allies and friends. Hes got an eye on his own reelection. By framing the Democratic Party and democrats as being antiisrael and jewish hes trying to get jen up concern there amongst a key voting block and bring them to his side. Just think of how unbelievable that is. Framing the democrats as being antijewish. Thats an astonishing thing for a leader of either party to say, let alone the president of the United States. Is he saying joe biden is antijewish . Nancy pelosi is antijewish . Its extraordinary to use that term. Ive talked with people on the hill and lawmakers about this who are, frankly appalled that the president would make this claim considering how sort of not true it is. But, jeff, weve seen the president pump up this idea, right . I remember when he was tweeting about something called the new movement to try to get Jewish Americans away from the Democratic Party, encourage them to sort of join republicans. The president thinks it seems to me that this is a way for him to win votes. Reporter i think youre exactly right. He sees this as good politics, despite the fact hell get criticism from it and certainly there will be pushback from the democratic side. Looking forward to seeing how the democratic president ial candidates will respond to that. Certainly, he sees it as a strategically good move for him and his reelection chances. Bill, there was also this moment from secretary of state mike pompeo about whether or not the president is doing the work of god. Im paraphrasing, but i want you to listen to his response, tying President Trump to the story of purim. Could it be that President Trump has been raised for such a time like this, just like queen esther . I certainly believe thats possible. It was remarkal. We were down in the tunnels where we could see 3,000 years ago and 2,000 years ago if i have the history just right, to see the ratherable history of the faith in this place and the work that our administrations done to make sure that this democracy in the middle east, this jewish state remains. Im confident that the lord is sat wo at work here. His answering a question about it, hes not like making a big deal of it. Hes not volunteering it in his personal capacity as a christian. Im not upset about it. The book of esther is the only book in the bible that doesnt mention god. The mordecai acts in a clever way to save the jewish people. God might be involved, but christians see it differently. Its best to keep it best that the divine is on one side out of politics. To be fair to pompeo, hes asking a question from a religious broadcaster. Maybe hes trying to get out of the conversation. Thats one thing. Its another thing to say if i can obsess on this one of our two major parties is antijewish. Not just democrats, im sure how theyre going to respond. How do other republicans responds . We know the answer to that, though. But the president has said this before. If you were a decent person in the Democratic Party, theyre antijewish. He has said theyre antijewish. He says he hates jewish people when he was in a fundraiser. How could you work with democrats . How could one have a bipartisan agreement on anything . One of our two major parties is hostile to the religion to which one belongs, youd have to be dedicated to destroying that party. I guess thats how trump wants his supporters to feel. The president is trying to fight. He is not o subjective opinion, thats what the president wants to do when you look at how the south lawn departure went. He went after the house investigations into him. He praised his attorney general, as weve seen before. It does seem the specter of this report is hanging over the president as he is down in south florida today. By the way, were going to see him later today, potentially, at this event with caribbean leade leaders. Reporter i was out on the south lawn with our colleagues. Yeah, i mean, we asked him about the Mueller Report, because people are expecting that to drop anytime. He said he didnt know when it was coming. He used that opportunities and that venue to discredit other the democratic probes into him and to people around him. And thats been his strategy all along. Jared kushner, who is jewish worked with democrats in criminal justice. We want to get to breaking news this morning. Two u. S. Soldiers killed in afghanistan overnight. A military spokesperson says the two were killed during an operation in an undisclosed part of the country. The details are still very thin here. According to the associated press, a total of four americans have been killed so far this year in afghanistan. There are about 14,000 u. S. Forces still in the country, as the u. S. Steps up efforts to end the 17 year long war. We are waiting for more updates from the pentagon. Well bring them to you the second we get them. Up next, a new report takes us inside President Trumps decision to incessantly attack john mccain. Ready for mueller. The president s lawyers, theyre just like us watching tv and twitter for any news from the special counsel. And 2020 contenders. Senior republicans reportedly ready to pass on winning the popular vote in 2020. He popular vote in 2020 leave no man behind. Or child. Or other child. Or their new friend. Or your giant nephews and their giant dad. Or a horse. Or a horses brother, for that matter. The room for eight, 9,000 lb towing ford expedition. [woman] with sharks duo clean, i dont just clean, i deep clean carpets and floors, so i got this. Yep, this too, and this, please. Even long hair and pet hair are no problem, but the one thing i wont have to clean is this because the sharks selfcleaning brush roll removes the hair wrap while i clean. [announcer] shark, the vacuum that deep cleans now cleans itself. You know reliable support when you have it, and that dependability is what we want to give our customers. At comcast, its my job to constantly monitor our network. Prevent problems, and to help provide the most Reliable Service possible. My name is tanya, i work in the Network Operations center for comcast. We are working to make things simple, easy and awesome. President trump is now defending his attacks on the late senator john mccain, as mccains daughter has spoken out against the comments. The senators youngest daughter is tweeting, asking the president to stop. Everyone doesnt have to agree with my dad or like him, but i ask you to be decent and respectful. If you cant do those two things, be mindful we only said good bye to him seven months ago. I want to bring in ashley parker. Its great to see you, girl. Good to see you. So talk through some of this. You have reporting on what the president must be thinking about here, why he continues to reiterate these attacks. He was asked about this overnight by Fox Business NetworksMaria Bartiromo. This is a longtime grudge that came to a head at the beginning of the 2016 president ial campaign. Senator mccain accused trump of riling up the quote unquote, crazies in the Republican Base with his immigration rhetoric. Thats when the president said he prefers war heroes who arent captures. In that moment a lot of people thought, including in the Republican Party and the media that would end trumps president ial bid. It did not. Its an interesting question why this came up now. Our understanding is the president saw a news report over the weekend about the senators role in providing a copy of this dossier that outlined the president s possible ties to russia to the fbi. He blames that dossier and senator mccain for launching the whole fbi investigation into russian interference. He started tweeting and those tweets, were now talking about them on friday. Theyve dominated the news cycle because the president , as he says correctly, is asked about them by journalists. But also because the president brings it up on his own. I was at a rally at an Army Manufacturing plant and he took a break to an unprompted attack senator mccain who has been dead for seven months in front of an audience thats not necessarily going to be the crowd thats going to be cheering on that kind of rhetoric. Here is how the president addressed that in that interview, ashley. You spent a good portion of your time in ohio the other day trashing john mccain. Senator john mccain is dead, why are you doing is . Its not a good portion of my time, its a small portion. If you realize about three days ago it came out his main person gave to the fbi the fake news dossi dossier, it was a fake, a fraud, it was paid for by Hillary Clinton and the democrats. He gave it to john mccain who gave it to the fbi. The other thing he voted against repeal and replace. Hes dead, he cant punch back. No, i dont talk about it, people ask the me question. I didnt bring this up, you brought about it. You talked about it this week. You asked me the question. When i went out yesterday to the scrum, they asked me the question. When they ask me the question, i answer the question. But you people bring it up, i dont bring it up. At one point the president said to Maria Bartiromo i dont think you were supposed to bring it up at all. Your paper points out theres an audience on social media on fox news, other conservative leaning platforms in which Donald Trumps searing critiques of the late senator are acceptable to rank and rile republica, thats put it, republicans. I think theres a sense the president s comments claerl on in the campaign would derail his president ial bid and it didnt. He is not going to pay a price for attacking senator mccain, Establishment Republicans may not like it, other people may not like it. But in some ways the president going after mccain so the president is right, he may not pay a penalty with his core supporters. Ashley parker there, thank you. Its great to see you. Coming up, waiting for mueller, the president s lawyers says theres a big surprise they do not expect from the special counsel. Do not expect fromhe t special counsel. Its tough to quit smoking cold turkey. So chantix can help you quit slow turkey. Along with support, chantix is proven to help you quit. With chantix you can keep smoking at first and ease into quitting. Chantix reduces the urge so when the day arrives, youll be more ready to kiss cigarettes goodbye. When you try to quit smoking, with or without chantix. You may have nicotine withdrawal symptoms. Stop chantix and get help right away if you have changes in. Behavior or thinking, aggression, hostility, depressed mood, suicidal thoughts or actions, seizures, new or worse heart or blood vessel problems, sleepwalking, or life threatening allergic and skin reactions. Decrease alcohol use. Use caution driving or operating machinery. Tell your doctor if youve had Mental Health problems. The most common side effect is nausea. Quit smoking slow turkey. Talk to your doctor about chantix. door bell rings its ohey. This is amazing. With moderate to severe ulcerative colitis, are you okay . Even when i was there, i never knew when my symptoms would keep us apart. So i talked to my doctor about humira. I learned humira can help get, and keep uc under control when other medications havent worked well enough. And it helps people achieve control that lasts. So you can experience few or no symptoms. Humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. Serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened; as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. Before treatment, get tested for tb. Tell your doctor if youve been to areas where certain fungal infections are common, and if youve had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flulike symptoms or sores. Dont start humira if you have an infection. Be there for you, and them. Ask your gastroenterologist about humira. With humira, control is possible. Breaking news now. A big investigation into President Trump. The federal prosecutor in new york who led the successful prosecution of former trump Attorney Michael Cohen is leaving. Nbcs tom winter is joining us with this story. The sdny is making it sound like typical turnover of staff, if you will. Does that sync with your understanding of his departure . Reporter thats exactly correct based on the information and reporting from myself and my colleague, it appears this is purely a personal move. Hes the deputy currently and about to leave on april 12th the deputy u. S. Attorney for the Southern District of new york. Thats him pictured on your screen right there. Kuzami has led because the u. S. Attorney in new york was appointed by President Trump. He was recused. Berman was recused when the investigation was kind of handed down from Robert Mueller to prosecutors here in new york. And so robert kuzami, his deputy, became the person in charge of the Michael Cohen investigation and has led that investigation. Hes been commuting since january of 2018 between here and washington, d. C. Which is where his family is. This is really just an opportunity for him to be closer to them. I know theres been reporting out there reporting from the New York Times and its been suggested elsewhere that at different points the president thought perhaps about pressuring prosecutors here in new york through then acting attorney general matt whittaker. Theres no indeication here basd upon who weve talked to and reporting here over the past several days that this is due to any pressure anywhere. This is purely a personal decision were told. Hes going to be replaced by somebody who is very qualified, has an extensive history with the Justice Department, audrey strauss. She was involved in the independent investigation into the iran contra affair. Shes someone who is very experienced, taking the place of robert kuzami who is also experienced who has a terrific track record. Frankly, this is something that in normal circumstances we wouldnt be talking about. It would be a big deal in the Justice Department circumstancelcircumstancles, in legal circles. Right. Tom winter, you have our attention. Thank you much my friend, appreciate it. Lets talk pins, needles and Robert Mueller and the russia investigation. Because that could be dropping, or at least the notification of it at any time. President trump says he doesnt know when its going to come out. As he said to reporters this morning outside the white house. Were going to see what happens. Its going to be very interesting. But well see what happens. There was no collusion. There was no obstruction. Everybody knows it. Its all a big hoax. Its like a witch hunt, its all a big hoax. Well see what happens. I know that the attorney general, highly respected, ultimately will make a decision. Let me bring in now chuck rosenburg, former u. S. Attorney and senior fbi official and nick acerman, currently a partner at the firm of dorsey and whitney. Gentlemen, thank you for being here. Chuck, we know this Mueller Report will get sent to the doj sometime between now and when the sun forms a red dwarf and engulfed the family. Give or take. Give or take. We dont know much more than that. Thats right. Bob mueller is required by the order issued to him about 22 months ago to write a confidential report to the department of justice. Having worked for the man, knowing a little bit about him, i can tell you hes going to heed closely to that order, which is quite narrow. It is russian interference in the election. Right . And any coordination with those associated with the trump campaign. Hes not rummaging through Donald Trumps attic. Hes going to stick closely to his order. And yet, nick, you heard the president there say very definiti definitively, no collusion, no obstruction, witch hunt, im good basically. Potentially could be optimistic for President Trump . Extremely optimistic. As far as the Mueller Report goes, weve been getting it on the install plment plan. We got it in july of 2018 with respect to the hacking into thethe Democratic National committee and the staging and release of those documents to help the trump campaign. The question is is anybody in the trump campaign, including donald trump a member of that conspiracy. Are we going to get it in the installment plan or will there be a later report . If we get it in the installment plan, that means that Robert Mueller believes there are other people who should be charged in that conspiracy s. And, darren, whatever to nicks points, whatever we end up finding out, it seems like its important to draw a distinction between any possible legal liabilities for the president and the political liabilities for him as they may develop . Thats right. I mean, both the legal and the political have merged together for President Trump. Theyve been that way for the last two years. You think back to the 2018 campaign and donald trump was using the Mueller Probe as a way to turn out his base politically. It didnt obviously work for him. Hes going to use this as a cudgel Going Forward no matter what, whether hes exonerated, whether theres larger charges found against him or other people. Whether democrats bring impeachment proceedings forward. Donald trump will be using this for some time to come, saying hes been a victim of a vendetta by the democrats and turning the tables and saying Hillary Clinton should be investigated. So i think politically for the president thats the message, thats why when you see Rudy Guiliani and his other lawyers talking, i think theyre trying to push a political message than a legal one. I think thats clearly been the strategy from the start. Speaking of the president s attorney, darren, let me go to you on what the president told nbc news. He says he doesnt expect anymore indictments. Rudy guiliani doesnt know either way. He is like 99. 9 of people on this planet speculating at this point. He said if theres something factually inaccurate thats stated well respond as appropriate. He also told a front of the show robert costa, if muellers report is given to bill barr friday, guiliani says he plans to stay in washington this weekend to do some sunday tv interviews. I talked to Rudy Guiliani last night myself talking about this, he said the same things to me. He didnt know what was going to be in the report. He said he was waiting around like an expected father. They have multiple responses depending on what they see. Donald trump tweeted a couple weeks ago they had an 85 to 90 page opposition or response report. Rudy said its going to be a pared down version on that and it depends if this is a complete exoneration or theres some partial attacks on the president. Then theyll get a partial report response. I think rudy told me he wasnt expecting this investigation to be announced it was going to be over today. I think rudy predicted to me more likely monday or later in the week next week as opposed to today. So, you know, we are all waiting on pins and needles. Were waiting today. Its possible it could come today. Another key point, likely what we learn today is or when the next announcement from the Justice Department is that the investigation is over. Its going to be a sentence. I dont know how many times i can say that. I think the expectations do need to be set. As you talk about expectations, james comey is writing about this, he says the interests of justice will be served by maximum transparency about the special counsels work. Because the doj is guided first and always by the public interest. They should provide details about the finished investigations when the public needs to know them as it traditionally has. I think jims article is both important and interesting for at least two reasons. The first, that you cited, we should see as much as we possibly can. There is obviously keen interest in this thing. Id like to read the report, im sure you would too. I bet you would. Hes making a second important point in his article, which is about process. That if the process is fair, if the mueller team, agents and prosecutors, have access to the documents and witnesses they need. If theres no obstruction, right . If he happpeople allow the proc proceed unimpeded, then the result will be fair. Whether the president is exonerated or implicated, comey says it doesnt matter. What matters is that process is fair. And hes right. Thats what matters. Nick, you were part of the Watergate Prosecution team. Can you talk about what might happen once the report is turned over to the doj, how youd expect how those on the hill would be notified about what mueller has found in an outline, how they might use that . First of all, the Watergate Prosecution, we did release a report but it was about 14 do you carry that with you always . Always, always. Any moment . You never know when its going to come up. Bar trick. We released that 14 months after nixon resigned. Our report just like the Mueller Report up to this point, has been on the installment plan. Assuming suddenly they decide to put all of this into a report, what they really need to do is go through it and make sure that whatevers in there doesnt reveal what is grand jury material. That under the law cannot be released unless a Federal District court judge orders it to be released. Under these circumstances, certainly it would be appropriate to go before the District Court to say this is Important Information that ought to be released to the public. It ought to be released to congress. And ask the judge to enter an order to that effect. So thats kind of the process. But not everything can automatically be released under our system of justice. It is released, however, when someone is indicted. So thats why this report on the installment plan is much more significant than just a recitation of what mueller found, which i dont believe can be put into a report without approval by the District Court. Quick final thoughts, chuck . Nicks right. Theres other categories that can automatically be released, classified information, and information about ongoing investigations. So there may be other things in addition to grand jury information which should remain confidential for the time being. Thank you for joining us, much appreciated. Coming up, a 2020 strategy for President Trump. Senior republicans reportedly ready to give up winning the popular vote saying its out of reach. Kushners messages. The Big Questions lawmakers are asking about his use of whats app. Asking about his use of whas app. Limu emu doug mmm, exactly Liberty Mutual customizes your Car Insurance, so you only pay for what you need. Nice but uh, whats up with your partner . Oh we just spend all day telling everyone how we customize Car Insurance because no two people are alike, so. Limu gets a little confused when he sees another bird that looks exactly like him. Ya. Hell figure it out. Only pay for what you need. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Was a success for lastchoicehotels. Comign badda book. Badda boom. This year, were taking it up a notch. So in this commercial we see two travelers at a comfort inn with a glow around them, so people watching will be like, wow, maybe ill glow too if i book direct at choicehotels. Com. Who glows . Just say, badda book. Badda boom. Nobody glows. He gets it. Always the lowest price, guaranteed. Book now at choicehotels. Com but prevagen helps your brain with an ingredient originally discovered. In jellyfish. In clinical trials, prevagen has been shown to improve shortterm memory. Prevagen. Healthier brain. Better life. This week, the House OversightCommittee Chair alielh cummings says that gjared kushnr used the whats app for official business. [ inaudible question ] i know nothing about it. Ive never heard that. Ive never heard about it. So the president saying he knows nothing about it. Here to discuss is David Drucker. You heard the president is his strategy on this particular issue to deflect and just hope the news cycle eventually overtakes this . Yeah, hes got a good chance that hell get away with it. Look, whenever the president doesnt want to deal with an issue, he deflects. Which is interesting because he follows the work we do probably more closely than past president s. But, you know, it gets to the point this is a potential problem. Its one of those things thats coming to light because you now have much more aggressive oversight in the house of representatives with the democratic majority than you had under republicans. I just i dont think ultimately this is going to be a major issue for the president , given how many hot topics are on his plate, how many controversies he tends to fan. Whether or not we ask him a question or he decides to volunteer information. I do think, though, that democrats are going to try and look at all of the unusual means in which he and his close advisors are communicating to try and figure out whether they are, one, following security protocol and number two preserving information. I think sometimes the president , having come to politics late, forgets his communications dont belong to him. They belong to the country. And so while hes in charge of it for now, this is something thats supposed to be preserved. Sometimes i wonder if Jared Kushner, also a latecomer to president doesnt internalize the fact theyre acting on behalf of the government and not on behalf of themselves. Theyre doing things out of habit and not necessarily maybe out of a strategic design. Do you think that is a fair rationale not two days into a new administration, but two years into one . Should they have figured it out by now . I didnt say it was a fair rationale. A lot of us who have covered politics know this and we havent actually served in government. So im not saying that it is an excuse. Im not saying thats fair. Im just asking the question. No. No. Im responding to you because i think its a fair question. Should they have figured these things out by now. I think they should have figured it out by now. Maybe its part of a sort of nefarious design to avoid scrutiny. But this is par for the course. Its not surprising, its nothing new. Abbie lowell, the attorney representi representi representing Jared Kushner sent a letter. I said go talk to the white house. What is chairman cummings next move here . Well, look, i think theyre going to have to try and see if they can get documents from the white house. I think there were some claims they are which we know is going to be difficult because they havent wanted to respond. I think the president actually likes the fight with congress. So i think he would prefer not to hand over documentation. I think theyre going to have to look at this factor where its been reported that Jared Kushner said he was keeping the images. One of our colleagues on twitter said it could make it difficult for search for information if its saved by image and you cant keywaord it. Part of the reason you hold information and store it is so it can be searched and reviewed. This is a way of getting around that. Ultimately republicans, if this becomes a wider spread problem within the administration, especially given all of the high level tasks the president has given to Jared Kushner let me ask you go ahead. Were running out of time here, i only have 30 seconds. Alexandria ocasiocortez and Hillary Clinton are talking about exactly what youre talking about with ocasiocortez, the congresswoman, referencing the criticism against clinton by, quote, tweeting the story and saying the whats app, the former secretary of state responded tell me about it. Do you see this as something democrats will seize on as evidence of potential hypocrisy inside the Trump Administration . Im sure they will. They already are. Youre seeing that from Hillary Clinton and the congresswoman. I think then they have toic acknowledge that Hillary Clinton, it was a serious problem and something that deserved the level of scrutiny it got and may have cost her the white house. Then you have to acknowledge it was fair on the other side. If you want to have that conversation, go for it. One cant be okay if the other isnt. Thank you so much, appreciate that. Coming up, dont do it. Thats the advice to stacy abrams from a concerned Washington Post oped writer. The warning about running with joe biden come 2020. Were watching the dow right now, so its down, look at that 366 points for several reasons. Including in part the feds cautious outlook on the u. S. Economy. Well be keeping our eye on this throughout the afternoon. Well pop back in with updates for you as the morning goes on. S for you as the morning goes on hey there people eligible for medicare. Gimme two minutes. And ill tell you some important things to know about medicare. First, it doesnt pay for everything. Say this pizza. Is your part b medical expenses. This much about 80 percent. Medicare will pay for. Whats left. This slice here. Well. You have to pay for that. And thats where an aarp Medicare Supplement insurance plan, insured by Unitedhealthcare Insurance Company comes in. This type of plan helps pay some of what medicare doesnt. And these are the only plans to carry the aarp endorsement. Thats because they meet their high standards of quality and service. Review aarp Medicare Supplement plans and their rates in this free decision guide. Call United HealthcareInsurance Company or go online. Visit aarpmedicaresupplement. Com to request yours. Even apply online. Any time. Oh. Speaking of time. About a little over half way and theres more to tell. Like, how. With this type of plan, youll have the freedom to choose any doctor who accepts medicare patients. Great for staying with the one you know. Or finding. Somebody new, like a specialist. There are no networks and no referrals needed. None. And when you travel, your plan will go with you anywhere in the country. So, if youre in another state visiting the grandkids, stay awhile. Enjoy. And know that youll still be able to see any doctor who accepts medicare patients. Learn more with this free decision guide. Call or go online to request yours. Tick, tick, tick, time for a wrap up. A Medicare Supplement plan helps pay some of what medicare doesnt. You know, the pizza slice. It allows you to choose any doctor, who accepts medicare patients. And these are the only plans of their kind endorsed by aarp. Whew call or go online and find out more. 592 days until the 2020 election. But candidates on both sides of the aisle are already talking general election strategy. This new report from the Washington Examiner says Senior Republicans are resigned to trump losing the popular vote in 2020. Thats their headline. But theyre confident President Trump can pull off an Electoral College investigatory. Joining me now, jonathan capehart, and David Drucker joins us back as well. David, explain this, why do republicans think winning the popular vote is out of reach . Well, theyve looked at the map and the political conditions. Theyve looked at the president S Performance in 2016. Theyve concluded he may have even a few more paths to an Electoral College victory than he had in 2016 even as he has to make sure he protects his flank in the sun belt. Theyre not all that confident hes going to pull off a popular vote victory and i think thats a very sensible prediction. Whats interesting about this, hallie, is not so much the prediction on where the numbers are but that in many regards, they are just sort of resigned to it. And its much different than after president bush lost the popular vote in 2000. His Campaign Going into 2004 was semiobsessed with winning a popular vote victory in that election, not just winning reelection. They wanted to put to rest doubts about his legitimacy. We had not had the president win the white house without a popular vote since 1888. I think coming out of 2016, and if you look at where most republicans are as they check trump in regard to 2020, theyre at least very comfortable with this notion that he has a strong path in the Electoral College as they see it today and theyre more confident today than when he was inaugurated. But its just not there for the popular vote. Now, things can change, things arent hard and fast, we have a long way to go. But thats how things are looking and theyre okay with it. On the other hand, we have pete buttigieg, elizabeth warren, and others saying, yeah, lets get rid of the Electoral College altogether. You can see why it would incentivize them and not republicans. Yes, because democrats have seen time and time again where the candidate who gets the most popular votes, usually the democrat, doesnt wind the whit house. We saw that with al gore and we saw that with Hillary Clinton. But to this notion not notion, but to davids column about republicans resigning themselves to the president not winning the popular vote, i mean, i think that spells sort of trouble for the country writ large. We saw a preview of what the 2020 election is going to look like in the last two weeks of the Midterm Elections where the president basically gave up on trying to help republicans hang onto the house, where democrats overwhelmingly took back control of the house of representatives, but republicans picked up seats in the senate. And thats because the president spent the last two weeks of the 2018 Midterm Election cycle running around to red states with a campaign of hateful rhetoric about caravans, about diseaseridden immigrants coming over the border, quote unquote, invading the country. Thats the kind of rhetoric we have to look forward to as the president , as weve seen, still, he continues this, this Campaign Based on fear and loathing and hatred. And unfortunately, as we saw in 2016, and in the senate races in 2018, that kind of campaigning works. Let me ask you and shift gears here to talk about the Democratic Candidates that are out there as we take a live look at beto orourke getting ready to head to a Campaign Event in south carolina. You can see the crowd waiting for him. Joe biden will be soon, potentially, in front of crowds like this one if he does, as expected, decide to run. Jonathan, your colleague at the Washington Post, Karen Tumulty, wrote a piece about the potential of biden to announce Stacey Abrams as his running mate. She wrote, stacey, dont do of this. Car karen tell you you mecau right. Weve been talking about this possibility for a weeks now. When we first said it, the initial reaction was, whoa, thats amazing, that would totally blow up the democratic field. But the more you think about it and the more you really get into what that would mean for him and for her, it doesnt look as good as it seems. I think Karen Tumulty outlines those things. The idea that Stacey Abrams would be the human shield for Vice President biden is unfair to her. Here is someone who were it not for Voter Suppression in georgia, would be the governor of georgia. She could run for the democratic primary for president in her own right. While it might be good for democrats to play these parlor games about who would the vp nominee would be and whether or not its the right thing for Vice President biden to name someone right out the gate, i think we have to then, once we finish the parlor games, look at the individuals involved. And i think karen is right, it would not be fair to Stacey Abrams. She should be able to run on her own two feet. Jonathan capehart, David Drucker, thanks to both of you. Coming up, a look at Robert Muellers investigation. Well talk to president ial historian michael beschloss. Cha. Before you and your rheumatologist move to another treatment, ask if xeljanz xr is right for you. Xeljanz xr is a oncedaily pill for adults with moderate to severe ra for whom methotrexate did not work well enough it can reduce pain, swelling and further joint damage, even without methotrexate. Xeljanz xr can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. Serious, sometimes fatal infections, and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened. As have tears in the stomach or intestines, serious allergic reactions, low blood cell counts, higher liver tests and cholesterol levels. Dont start xeljanz xr if you have an infection. Your doctor should perform blood tests before and while taking xeljanz xr, and monitor certain liver tests. Tell your doctor if youve been somewhere fungal infections are common and if you have had tb, hepatitis b or c, or are prone to infections. Dont let another morning go by without talking to your rheumatologist about xeljanz xr. danny s voice of course you donte because you didnt . Dont let another morning go by without talking to your job isnt doing hard work. Its making them do hard work. And getting paid for it. vo snap and sort your expenses to save over 4,600 at tax time. Quickbooks. Backing you. And i heard that my cousins so, wifes sisters husband was a lawyer, so i called him. But he never called me back if your cousins wifes sisters husband isnt a lawyer, call legalzoom and well connect you with an attorney. Legalzoom. Where life meets legal. You know reliable support when you have it, and that dependability is what we want to give our customers. At comcast, its my job to constantly monitor our network. Prevent problems, and to help provide the most Reliable Service possible. My name is tanya, i work in the Network Operations center for comcast. We are working to make things simple, easy and awesome. That wraps up this hour of msnbc live. The last 120 minutes have been a pleasure with you. Andrea mitchell reports starts right now with my colleague Chris Jansing in new york, another 60 minutes of pure fun. Well done, thank you so much, my friend hallie jackson. What about bob . Speculation over the timing of the Mueller Report swirling, with President Trump saying this morning that hes in the dark too. I have no idea about the Mueller Report. Were going to see what happens. Its going to be very interesting. Well see what happens. Uh, there was no collusion. There was no obstruction. Everybody knows it. Its all a big hoax. Early win. The Trump White House changes decades of foreign policy, giving a big boost to Prime Minister netanyahu just two weeks before his israeli election. President trump as just made history. I called him. I thanked him on behalf of the people of israel. He did it again. And all about that base. Why is President Trump continuing his dayslong attack on the late senator john mccain . Uh, im not a fan. After all of this time, hes think of this, repeal and replace, we