Not South Carolina. Not even nevada. Mr. Bloomberg kicking the whole thing off in the commonwealth. He is going to be in virginia. That is where we find ali vitaly, shes in norfolk, as the locals call it. Ali, have we started seeing folks show up yet for this bloomberg event . Reporter no, craig, not yet. But, look, Michael Bloomberg is kicking off the campaign. Its official, as a campaign trail reporter its not official until the candidates get out here and talking to voters and thats what were going to see today. Hes got a retail politics stop at a local diner and then hes going to give us prepared remarks and maybe we hope a few questions. Thats how hes going to kick it off in virginia. Hes in the state where Michael Bloomberg has put his billions to the test and actually started giving money to some local candidates when we saw the legislature here just a few weeks ago flip from red to blue. So theyre sort of trying to make this an example of a place where bloomberg has been involved in progressive causes. Another way hes going to remind them of that is the millions hes put into efforts like gun control and Climate Change over the last several years. Reminding them that hes been involved in progressive caution and now he wants to take on donald trump. Before that, he has to take on the rest of the field. Two things that im looking for now that the candidacy is official. The way he messages it and the debate stage. He know on the debate stage front how important it is for candidates to be on that stage so voters see the menu of candidates. As we get later in this game, voters are going to keep tuning into that see the options. But bloombergs team says hes not going to be taking donations. One of the metrics to qualify for that stage is the number of donors that you have. Were interested to see if the dnc has anything on that. And if bloomberg will qualify for those stages. Secondly on the messaging front, youve got the floor for every candidate beating president donald trump. We know from talking to voters that thats top of mind for so many of them. But then theres really a split in the field. There are the candidates who are im only going to beat president trump, thats bloomberg and biden. Then youve got warren, sanders and some others saying, yeah, im going to beat donald trump but look at all of the policy i have to offer. Thats going to be interesting how that shapes out as voters have another option. Ali vitali is there. Thank you. The former mayor of new york picked up one key endorsement even before he announced his run. And it came from another mayor in a key state, Steve Benjamin in South Carolina. Mayor benjamin, good to see you, sir. Thanks for your time. Thank you, craig. Thanks for having me. When you first endorsed the former mayor, you talk about him having the resources to go the distance. You used the word resources twice in the span of three sentences during that initial conversation about Mike Bloomberg. How much of this is just about Mike Bloombergs deep pockets . Well, its not just resources, its also record. Youre talking about, weve had great businessmen who have run for president before. Obviously, selfmade, started his own business in a oneroom office has built it into a global brand. Weve had accomplished officials taking over new york city postfledge, and really rebuilding the city, 100 billion budget at the center of a 2 trillion gdp. Larger than that, i might mention of the country of russia. Then youve had great philanthropists run. 8 million in charity. In colleges all across this country and across the world. Its rare that you have someone who has done all three of those things offer himself up. So its not just resources, but it will be key. Being able to compete dollar for dollar with donald trump. So its important that we have someone who has the resources and has shown not only does he have the resources, hes willing to dedicate them either to flip virginia. Or take on the tobacco lobby, gun lobby or fighting against climate deniers. So it matters. Resources is one thing but a record of leading and being a doer and not a talker i think that distinguishes Mike Bloomberg. The New York Times reports that bloomberg will face a number of options. Starting with his own political baggage that includes a complex array of business entanglements. Records of comments about women. And black and latino men with invasive searches. Bloomberg, as you know, apologized in a church in brooklyn for the stop and frisk policy of his administration. Is that enough . I mean, can Michael Bloomberg win enough minority support, especially in our home state there of South Carolina, to make his candidacy a viable one . Sure. I think those are all legitimate concerns. And criticisms. And he would acknowledge that. Thats why i have the opportunity to attend the Church Service where the mayor made, i believe, a heartfelt and clear apology for stop and frisk. Its important to note that the stop and frisk policy was reduced by 94 before the mayor left office. He realized it was not an effective way of conducting police business. But you only apologized for it when he started to run for president. Well, yes, but i dont know, i had conversations with him earlier this year, as well as over a month ago, before he decided to run. And i just dont i told the mayor, a lot of other people who really felt that we needed his brand of leadership. Weve seen the amazing work hes done in climate. Weve seen the amazing work hes done to take 400 million guns off the streets. Stop and frisk would be a threshold issue for a lot of democrats, the fact that hes willing to own up. I take him for his word. I will tell you this, donald trump represents an existential threat to america, not just our standing in the world but the way in which the spirit in this country. So im willing to stand forward. I came out early as you noted to take the fight to president trump. I think we got the right man in Mike Bloomberg. So far as you know in the palmetto state, joe biden leading in almost all of the major polls. What did Mike Bloomberg offer is that joe biden does not . Sure. You know, i wish this was an either or proposition. The rallies, we have a number of really talented who are offing for the presidency on the siemd of the aisle. Whoever the democratic nominee is were going to support that nominee over president trump. Joe biden is a good man and decent man. Hes has deep relationships here in South Carolina hes built over several decades. I do believe, however, not only the resources you that mentioned earlier, also, im not just a former pressed congress of mayors, im also the president of mayors admiration society. I do believe hands on in a city that requires you to be responsive to the challenges of the day, the mayors work, not just rebuilding the economy of the new york, working with the young mens initiative, helping black and latino boys resource net to the tune of 100 million get back on track. Working to reduce the prison population by 30 in new york. And in the innovation economy. Theres just a record of getting things done. And certainly, over the last cycles, i see at the in 2016, taking on donald trump and his work in 2018 helping to flip 21 seats in congress. And certainly the work in virginia, just earlier this month, i cant speak to all of the other candidates. I just know that the work that Mike Bloomberg is doing is a tra jekts tore. We need to see next november here in the u. S. Steve benjamin. Outgoing president of the u. S. Conference of mayors, also mayor of columbia, South Carolina. Good to see you, my friend. Thank you. Same here. Craig, come home soon. I would love to. You should talk to my bosses here. Let me bring in antwon searite, founder of ceo bloomberg strategy. And former adviser to the Hillary Clinton campaign. Former speechwriter for bill frisk. I noticed out of the corner of my eye, during the mayors interview, you were nodding. You did not appear to be nodding approvingly. Lets be clear, i subscribe to nobody wins when the family feuds. Be clear of that, criticizing my mayor. But there are things about the bloomberg candidacy we have to deep in mind. Number one, i know theres this notion out there that somehow or another you can rewrite the playbook as relates to the coalition to win the democratic nomination. You cannot be the democratic nominee without strong deep wide support among africanamerican voters. And number two, a candidate who skips over South Carolina are doing themselves a big favor, not to mention the home of the highest ranking africanamerican member of congress, jim clymer. Any candidate who is not clear about how do that is wasting our time and everyone elses time. I welcome mr. Bloomberg to the nomination. It doesnt sound like you think mr. Bloomberg has much of a shot . I just know what it takes to unite the party. I think to probably skip over iowa and new hampshire. And nevada. And several key debates as well if these not taking donor money. The campaign has put out an od. This is just a portion of the spot. Here it is. America once made a promise to mill class kids. Kids like Mike Bloomberg. Work hard and you can make good that mike knew was also important to do good. He built a company from scratch, creating 20,000 jobs with Quality Health care and paid leave. In the shadow of 9 11, mike is elected mayor of a shaken city. He rebuilds creating 400,000 new jobs to help the struggling middle class. Thats just a portion of the ad playing all over the country right now. It plays up his middle class roots. The fact that he created a number of jobs here in new york city when mayor. Heres the thing, the guy is worth about 54 billion at last check. Can he pull off that kind of populist message . Trump did, and hes a billionaire, too. You know what i noticed, number one, he never mentions donald trump by name. He says him, shows the picture. Number two, at the end, he pitches himself agency job creator, leader and problemsolver. Now, i dont work for mayor bloombergs campaign. I havent even spoke to anyone in the campaign. I can bet you dollars to doughnuts he focused grouped it and found that democratic voters are looking for those three things, job creator, leader and problem solver. Its interesting that you, craig, and ali vitaly have lumped him as joe biden. As the competitor of joe biden. Not elizabeth warren. Or kamala harris, people are putting him in that centrist moderate range that the 54 billion man people are telling him that theyre vulnerable. 70 of the team likely to cast their vote have said they already have a candidate who is in the race about whom they would support i think that says something. And for this idea that somehow or another you can buy the election i think that sets a dangerous precedent. I dont think it will buy the democratic nomination. I thought it was fascinating that the columbus governor, he talked about resources. We just learned in 2016 that Hillary Clinton outspent trump 2 to 1. And trump still, you know, won the electoral college. Now, we know in american politics its actually not necessarily about resources. Its about message and raeching the voters. If we get into the notion of adding more candidates to the Playing Field for us because its a democracy. It makes us more challenging to bring us together. Most people agree, craig. You look at Deval Patrick, it was reported that he couldnt get anyone to show up at an event at morehouse the day after the debate. What im saying, mayor bloomberg, i betcha dollars to doughnuts i like chocolate with sprinkles he has people who told him joe biden is vulnerable. Antwon, what would you say about this idea that if joe biden were seen a formidable frontrunner, then Michael Bloomberg probably wouldnt have gotten in or Deval Patrick . Look, i cant explain what wind blew his way to make him get in the race. I can tell you that joe biden, time after time, no matter who has attacked him on the left and right speaks i think, high volumes to the type of candidacy he has in the race and i think his overall strength and potential for growth. Even on this network, morning joe, joe and mika said can we Start Talking about joe biden if hes got all his marbles. Thank you. The head of the u. S. Navy fired by the president , its all about how the navy disciplined one of its s. E. A. L. S. And the defense secretary is talking to reporters for the First Time Since the head of the navy left. What is he saying . Also, new fallout from the impeachment inquiry. New reports, put the Top Republican investigate egg the president and ukraine in the spotlight himself. Symptoms following you . For adults with moderately to severely active crohns disease, stelara® works differently. Studies showed relief and remission, with dosing every 8 weeks. Stelara® may lower your ability to fight infections and may increase your risk of infections and cancer. Some serious infections require hospitalization. Before treatment, get tested for tb. Tell your doctor if you have an infection or flulike symptoms or sores, have had cancer, or develop new skin growths, or if anyone in your house needs or recently had a vaccine. Alert your doctor of new or worsening problems, including headaches, seizures, confusion and vision problems. These may be signs of a rare, potentially fatal brain condition. Some serious allergic reactions and lung inflammation can occur. Talk to your doctor today, and learn how janssen can help you explore cost support options. Remission can start with stelara®. On a scale of one to five . Wait. One to five . When it comes to feelings, its more like five million. Theres everything from happy to extremely happy. Theres also angry. Im really angry, clive actually, really angry. Thank you. And seat 36b angry. Youre clive owen. And youre barefoot. Yeah. Theres also apprehension. Regret. Relief. Oh and theres empathy. Ah, i got this in zurich actually, whats the opposite of empathy . But what if your business could understand what your customers are feeling. And then do something about it. You can turn disappointment into gratitude. Clive, you got to try this. I cant im working. Turn problems into opportunities. Thanks drone. Change the future of your business. Change the whole experience. Alright who wants to go again . I do i do i have a really good feeling about this. Breaking news in the fallout over the firing of Navy Secretary richard spencer. Secretary of defense mark esper just spoke out for the First Time Since asking for spencers resignation. And he offered some new details about how and why he asked him to resign. Nbc news correspondent Courtney Kube joins me from the pentagon with the details. I know you talked to the secretary of defense a short time ago, courtney, what did he say . He gave a lot more details, you mentioned craig about exactly he asked secretary spencer to resign. This is the first time we heard from him. He said he found out at a meeting at the white house on friday. He was over there with general marc milly to meet with the president. After the meeting, he said a senior white house official pull him aside and said, look, you should know secretary spencer is trying to broker what esper kept calling a secret proposal on the Eddie Gallagher case. The u. S. Navy s. E. A. L. Acquitted of murder in iraq in 2017, but found guilty of posing with the dead body of that isis fighter. The navy undertook a redue to review Eddie Gallaghers triedent. Its called trident review process essentially theyre looking at whether he should continue as a s. E. A. L. Or go back to being a conventional sailor. President trump said he does not want that review process to go on. Secretary spencer shed on the record that in fact he wanted the review process to go forward. Defense secretary esper said they were completely caught off guard when he found out that the Navy Secretary was trying to broker a deal in which gallagher would keep his trident pin. I know its confusing. Its got a lot of twists and turns here. But at the end of the day, esper said he found it was a violation of the defense secretarys trust and confidence for his Navy Secretary to be trying to broker some kind of a deal behind the defense secretarys back. Courtney, for folks who arent as familiar, obviously with a lot of the innerworkings of the military as you, the s. E. A. L. Pin, what is it and why does it matter so much . So,s the symbol of the fact that a sailor is a navy s. E. A. L. While it is to many it might just look like a pin, its actually extremely important to members of the navy s. E. A. L. S and to the navy in general. It shows you have made tell through this very rigor goous Training Programs in the u. S. Secretary esper, one of the things he told us this in fact Eddie Gallagher will keep his trident pin. There will be no review process and that was directly ordered from the president and secretary esper is the one who carried that out. Essentially what that means is, there will be no further reviews. Eddie gallagher will retire as a s. E. A. L. And maintain his rank and the administrative process is completely done. Courtney kube there for us from the pentagon. Courtney, thank you as always. I want to bring in retired fourstar admiral james serveds. Hes the author of sailing true north admirals and the voyage of character. Admiral, good to have you. Sir, thank you. From what we know so far based on the new reporting we just got from courtney there, did the Navy Secretary deserve to be fired . In everything i can see, my answer to that question would be no. But, you know, thats between secretary esper and secretary spencer. They can debate that off to the side. You know, i spent several years as chief of staff to a previous Navy Secretary, special assistant to an earlier one. I know that job pretty well. It strikes me that the core truth here is in the letter of resignation. Craig, if you go and read what secretary spencer said he said he was leaving because of a disagreement about good order and discipline in the service. I think thats where the story belongs, not in the tale of two secretaries over here. We ought to be talking about whats the impact on this decision by the president on the force. Why do you think he was compelled to write this letter . I want to put some of it up on the screen. You just referenced it. This is part of his resignation letter. Ill just read a portion of it for our listeners on sirius saddle i. I no longer share the same understanding with the commander in chief who appointed me. I cannot in good conscious owe pay an order that i took. That the oath that i took in the presence of my family, my flag and high state to support the constitution the united states. Why do you feel he felt to write a letter so direct . I believe that he is deeply concerned about the president s decision to reach so deep into the chain of command and to define where the navy goes, in dealing with this chief petty officer gallagher. And kraig, craig, we ought to jp back a second. Its not just the navy. Its a pack avenuech three pardons, two to the army, one to the navy s. E. A. L. Heres what all three of them have in common. All of them were brought forward by their peers in the field. This is fellow green berets and s. E. A. L. S who have reported this bad behavior. Theyve been adjudicated in different ways. It kind of came out in different time zones, if you will. At the end of the day, this is not the Political Correctness police catching these folks. These are their own peer group. And when theyre going up in a trial situation theyre being judged by their peers and this review panel to see whether or not chief gallagher retains his pin is part of that review process. So my guess is secretary spencer is concerned about the signal this is going to send to the force, while you report bad behavior in the field while it may be overturned by a pardon, that undermines the discipline. Thats where the phrase calms from. Thats a sale yentz point that i have actually not heard made until you made it there, admiral. Do you think well see more resignations as a result of any of this . I dont think so, i think pretty much everybody by the way, a lot of reliable reporting says that secretary of defense esper and chairman of the joint chiefs general mark milley, the latter i know quite well convinced the president not to reach into the mix and do this. But i think everybody is at the point of case closed on Eddie Gallagher. What you will see is the services, both the army and navy, redouble their efforts to talk to our war fighters in the field and make sure they understand what sets us apart from our opponents is that we follow the rule of law. We dont pose with corpses like theyre trophies. We dont shoot unarmed civilians. We dont go after families. We dont torture. We are not going to do those things. And i think youre going to see a strong effort coming outside of this in the military to underline that once again, because that is the vulnerability going forward. If that phrase is on us, craig, then were in several trouble. Admiral, thank you, sir, as always. My pleasure, craig. New reports that the president s act of chief of staff looked for a reason to justify withholding aid to ukraine, after the decision had already been made. First, though, rick perry is making headlines once again after calling the president the chosen one. Gods used imperfect people all through history. King david wasnt perfect, solomon wasnt perfect. Mr. President , i know people say were the chosen one. And i said, you were. Great riches will find you when Liberty Mutual customizes your car insurance, so you only pay for what you need. Wow. Thanks, zoltar. How can i ever repay you . Maybe you could free zoltar . Thanks, lady. Taxi only pay for what you need. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. This morning, one of the president s top allies in congress senator Lindsey Graham met with reporters in his home state of South Carolina. And in a preview of how he likely plans to navigate the impeachment process, graham continued to press for an investigation the bidens. And ukraine. I dont know if anything wrong happened. I dont know if it was illegal what hunter biden did. I dont know if theres any conflict of interest laws that are violated for the sitting Vice President s son to be on burismas board. But somebody needs to look at that. Those questions were not allowed to be answered in the house. And so it falls upon the senate to ask these questions. Were not going to live in a country where Just One Party gets investigated. Were not going to live in a country where political fact is the end of all inquiry. Lets us bring in jake sherman, and cindy oxby, former prosecutor. Jake, let me start with you, analyst from charleston, is that going to be pretty much the strategy with regards to the impeachment trial in the Upper Chamber . Theres two things going on here. One is what Lindsey Graham is doing which is investigating or saying hes going to investigate joe biden, hunter biden and burisma. And then the impeachment trial that will be conducted in the senate which is a separate process. I mean, the senate is going to receive impeachment articles from the house and will have to conduct a trial on those. Theyre not going to be able to conduct a trial on some other charges that have to do with hunter biden and burisma. Thats not reality. Thats not whats going to happen now, now Lindsey Graham is welcome to do this own investigation into things that he wants to investigate be but thats not going to be part of the impeachment trial as far as we know. And its interesting what he said. Because he said, were not going something that only one party can investigate. The department of justice, if it thought something was wrong, the fbi, if it thought something was wrong could investigate this, of course. If someone admitted a crime it would be adjudicated through the traditional channels. Not necessarily the senate. This is i dont want to call it a side show because its not a side show because Lindsey Graham is a Committee Chair and does have significant sway. But eye the trial will be conducted on the charge that the house passes not on what Lindsey Graham brings up. Meanwhile, jake, the White House Counsel Office reportedly held its own review of the view of ukraine. According to the washington post, this confident review, quote, turned up hundreds of documents that reveal extensive efforts to generate an afterthefact justification for the decision. And a debate over whether the delay was legal. This is according to three people familiar with the records. The post goes on to report, quote, the research by the White House Counsel Office includes early white house changes between acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and white house budget officials seeking to provide an scomplings for withholding the funds. What does this say about mick mulvane mulvaneys role in this. This excellent reporting by the post raises a lot of questions for the white house. And chief among them if there was justification for withholding the ukrainian aid and they were trying to figure something out afterwards. Thats incredibly problematic for a white house that said there was a justification. And the justification was testing out the government to make sure it had adequately dealt with corruption and things of that nature. So if theres evidence that wasnt the justification and that people were trying to come up with the justification afterwards, then thats quite damning and might not actually play into the houses impeachment process because the house is pretty much done and has established in its mind the facts andest of the case. Cynthia, youre a former prosecutor, does this report here give house investigators a new thread to follow . They can do it one of two ways they can either follow the thread themselves and make a decision in the house. Or they can follow the thread themselves and make whatever decisions theyre going to go to the Judiciary Committee and that will go to the senate. Then when they get information they can forward it to the senate prosecutors. You know, this really isnt unusual. Anybody who has tried a case or had a teenager or watched this white house, knows once they have caught, they have a tendency to try to scramble and come up with a justification. In the law, that evidence is admissible as consciousness of guilt. It may very well be also some form of contempt or obstruction of justice, in this case. Consciousness of guilt. Cynthia, right now, impeachment all about ukraine. House democrats, though, apparently havent forgotten about the mueller report. In fact, any moment, a federal judge expected to rieldz on whether former white House Counsel don mcgahn has to file a house subpoena to testify. What does that mean legally for the president . What does that mean for the ongoing impeachment proceedings . Well, i would say if this was a football game, you know, this ruling is sort of a 30yard line ruling. Its not a 100yard line. Its not a touchdown. It doesnt come to the end of anything. And thats because the question before the court is whether or not the white house is assert absolute immunity. Whether or not they can say blanketly to a non white house employee you cant even go. And thats a pretty broad statement. So even if they agree with the democrats that mcgahn has to testify, now what happens . Maybe he has Attorney Client privilege issues. Maybe he has executive privilege issues. Who knows, theres a list of other road blocks that may come up before we actually come to a decision on whether or not hes going to testify. Now, it may very well, depending on how its written and we just dont know, it may very well inform him what about he chooses to do because as we know, the state Department Employees have just come forward and decided to testify. So, it may help inform his decision on what he does. So it is by no means going to be the be all and end all of decisionmaking. Cynthia, thank you. Jake sherman, thank you. Happy thanksgiving to both of you. Mayor Pete Buttigieg back in iowa in the state where he is, according to one recent poll. Hes right at the top of the pack. In fact, this is a live picture here. This is red oak, iowa. His event there just getting under way. Hes talking about a new plan that hes rolling out. And its a plan that comes with a personal story. 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. [mmm pizza. ] is your part b medical expenses. This much about 80 percent. Medicare will pay for. Whats left. This slice here. Well. Thats on you. 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. Wanna learn more . Its easy. Call Unitedhealthcare Insurance Company now and ask. For this free decision guide. Inside youll find the range of aarp Medicare Supplement plans and their rates. Apply any time, too. 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. So call unitedhealthcare today. They are committed to being there for you. 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 unitedhealthcare today and ask for this free decision guide. Plaque psoriasis uncoverth clearer skin that can last. In fact, tremfya® was proven superior to humira® in providing significantly clearer skin. Tremfya® may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. Tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms or if you had a vaccine or plan to. Serious allergic reactions may occur. Tremfya®. Uncover clearer skin that can last. Janssen can help you explore cost support options. You dont let a cold ruin your day. You take dayquil severe liquicaps and crush it. Dayquil severe. The daytime, coughing, aching, stuffyhead, fever, sore throat, power through your day, medicine. Right now, we are watching some live pictures there. This is mayor Pete Buttigieg. He just took a seat. He is meeting with voters in iowa, as he works to cement his lead there in the hawkeye state. This roundtable comes as hes unveiling another policy proposal, one that has a personal tie with 70 days to go until the iowa caucuses, thats right, 70, buttigieg is not the only candidate still on the campaign trail right now. Well put up a map to show you who else is in iowa. I want to bring in nbcs road warrior Vaughn Hillyard in red oak, iowa, not far from the nebraska state line. Hes there following Pete Buttigieg. What are we hearing from the mayor this morning, vaughan . Yo reporter yeah, youre seeing Pete Buttigieg, a sevenstop through i woo. Talking about the dissolvency of a retirement plan. I want to let you hear, the mayor lost his father earlier this year to an illness. He brought up his fathers own experience and related that to the plan that hes rolling. This is a few minutes ago. Ageing should be something that brings so many blessings. The opportunities of retirement. Time spent with kids and grandkids. But we know also that it brings hardship. Or at least it can. It brings uncertainty. And the numbers are only going to increase how important this is. Reporter these are the types of friends, here when getting to the crux of it, this is Pete Buttigiegs first stop in iowa, solidifying himself to the top polling. After he leaves iowa, hes actually heading to the south where hes struggled for support in communities of color of South Carolina. What if anything are voters saying about mayor bloomberg in the field . Reporter the wildcard in the race. Ive just talked to dave dougherty, a resident here at red oak iowa. Without prompting him, i said who are you looking at in this race between buttigieg . He said tom steyer and Mike Bloomberg. I said how do you feel about bloomberg, skipping the first four states . Well, it cuts more into it, its more of a disappointment because when you look at the general election voters in iowa wont get a chance to be introduced like the other candidates. What about 30 million you feel like hes buying the election. His wife joked that maybe he could put that towards a charity. At the same time he said hes looking for a candidate that can most effectively take it to donald trump. Right now, hes looking at bloomberg and Pete Buttigieg as those two individuals have been best able to articulate in a general election. Craig. No one handles a golf course report like Vaughn Hillyard, way to keep it low and classy there, my friend. I appreciate you. Susan rice and general david petraeus, two unlikely Foreign Policy outliers, doing their best to try and find some Common Ground. We can work through our differences we have prioritize that which we share or we can allow those decisions to render support. We cannot continue with this divide being where compromise is a word that seems to have gone out of the lexicon. My exclusive conversation with them coming up, including what the pair have to say about the ukraine call and the future of the presidency. Surprise a new buick . For me . To james, from james. Thats just what i wanted. Is this a new buick . I secret santaed myself. I shouldnt have. But i have been very good this year. I love it. I love it. This year, turn black friday into buick friday, all month long. Current eligible nongm owners and lessees get 20 below msrp on most of these 2019 buick models. The best of pressure cooking and air frying now in one pot, and with tendercrisp technology, you can cook foods that are crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. The ninja foodi Pressure Cooker, the Pressure Cooker that crisps. Nongmo, made with naturally sundown vitamins are all sourced colors and flavors and are gluten dairy free. Theyre all clean. All the time. Even if sometimes were not. Sundown vitamins. All clean. All the time. Right now, the division in our politics is deep. It seem hard to even have a conversation with someone who doesnt agree with you, especially in the impeachment process. I just had a chance to sit down with two people you dont think has a whole lot in common former National Security adviser susan rice and former director of the cia general david petraeus. And they shared a mutual concern. The danger of our nations politicization. Our political dysfunction is literally preventing us from getting basic things done that most americans agree on. Were not in a position to compete effectively, with china in the 21st century and the economics there, because we cant even agree to spend infrastructure money. We cant repairmoney. We cant repair roads, bridges, airports. We cant lay broadband where its needed because congress cant agree even on the basic stuff. There are many states where municipalities democracy is working. What ambassador rice highlighted here, it is the hollowing out of the center. Thats a result of Party Primaries which pull you further and further. Its the base, the activists that vote in primaries. Your fear is that you get primaried. Weve made these districts bright red and bright blue. That conversation was organized by the Common Ground committee, a group that promotes civil public discourse. Bruce, it was good to be with you last week. A lot of folks heading home for thanksgiving. There will likely be some awkward conversations around the turkey and dressing. What are some of the biggest things dividing us right now and how can families find Common Ground . The things that are dividing us, there are stizillions of things. Thats to a degree the political divisions weve had, theyve always been there. When we started Common Ground committee back in 2009, we were aware that the notion that if you disagree with me politically that youre a bad person. That started to become more and more prevalent. So ultimately to solve that we have to start thinking about each other differently, that were not such bad people. The work that we do with the events that we have we provide a spark of inspiration. We put on people of different persuasions and they have a conversation. People go, i cant believe that these folks can talk this way in this day and age. That inspires people. Not mocking each other on social media. At least theyll think about it before they actually do that after they see one of our events. One of the things that struck me is how susan rice and general petraeus, how they talked about the current administration, specifically the situation in ukraine. Yes. Anything approaching that in my over 25 years of serving two president s throughout two administrations. Ive never heard of it in the administrations in which i havent served. Its highly unusual and in my judgment if the facts all lash up to this conclusion, its an abuse of power. Just coincidentally, i happened to be in ukraine around the time of the call, perhaps a little bit before it. It was with former u. S. Ambassador to ukraine who runs a program at the atlantic council. Im on their board. We went over together. We went up to the front lines, not being on the front lines before. It is a static front line, but think of world war i with optics, drones and a lot of snipers and you have the picture. It was very clear to us the huge importance of u. S. Assistance not just in terms of Security Assistance funding, critical as that is, but also helping them reform their defense department, their military industries, their government. In many ways they seem to be in sync when it came to how bizarre that phone call was, how out of the norm it was. This is one of the things that we try to emphasize here is that people who are on different sides of the aisle can find agreement on a number of different things. The polarization has been going on for some time. Its not just a function of whats taking place right now within the congress and hearings and so forth. Our goal is to try to show people what good looks like and to put representatives on in front of an audience. Often we do this with College Students to show them this is how a civil conversation can take place. More than that, to emphasize where the panelists have points of agreement and not to focus so much on where they have points of disagreement. These are things we think are very important to get across, especially as we say to young people who are kind of learning about how the nations government works. Thank you both. Keep doing what youre doing. We certainly need it. Thank you, craig. Appreciate you and the united today program as well. Thanks for working with us. I was happy to be a part of it. Coming up next hour, congresswoman Jackie Speier will be joining us. R will be joining us. Studies showed relief and remission, with dosing every 8 weeks. Stelara® may lower your ability to fight infections and may increase your risk of infections and cancer. Some serious infections require hospitalization. Before treatment, get tested for tb. Tell your doctor if you have an infection or flulike symptoms or sores, have had cancer, or develop new skin growths, or if anyone in your house needs or recently had a vaccine. Alert your doctor of new or worsening problems, including headaches, seizures, confusion and vision problems. These may be signs of a rare, potentially fatal brain condition. Some serious allergic reactions and lung inflammation can occur. Talk to your doctor today, and learn how janssen can help you explore cost support options. Remission can start with stelara®. Of millions of americans during the recession. So, my wife kat and i took action. We started a Nonprofit Community bank with a simple theory give people a fair deal and real economic power. Invest in the community, in businesses owned by women and people of color, in affordable housing. The difference between words and actions matters. Thats a lesson politicians in washington could use right now. Im tom steyer, and i approve this message. Make familysized meals fast, and because its a ninja foodi, it can do things no other oven can, like flip away. The ninja foodi air fry oven, the oven that crisps and flips away. pirate girl ahoy gotcha girl nooooooooooooo man nooooo vo quick, the quicker picker upper bounty picks up messes quicker, and is two times more absorbent. Bounty, the quicker picker upper. Thats it. Im calling kohler about their walkin bath. [ sigh ] not gonna happen. My name is ken. How may i help you . Hi, im calling about kohlers walkin bath. Excellent happy to help. Huh . Hold one moment please. [ finger snaps ] hmm. The kohler walkin bath features an extrawide opening and a low stepin at three inches, which is 25 to 60 lower than some leading competitors. The bath fills and drains quickly, while the heated seat soothes your back, neck and shoulders. Kohler is an expert in bathing, so you can count on a deep soaking experience. Are you seeing this . The kohler walkin bath comes with fully adjustable hydrotherapy jets and our exclusive bubblemassage. Everything is installed in as little as a day by a kohlercertified installer. And its made by kohler americas leading plumbing brand. We need this bath. Yes. Yes you do. A kohler walkin bath provides independence with peace of mind. Call. For a free kohler® nightlight toilet seat with inhome quote or visit kohlerwalkinbath. Com for more info. Thats going to wrap up this hour of msnbc live. Right now Andrea Mitchell reports. Right now with friends like these, as new questions swirl about whether or not the Top Republican in the House Intelligence Committee spoke to ukrainians at the center of the impeachment inquiry. Senate judiciary chairman Lindsey Graham goes after joe biden and his son. Hes the nicest person i think ive ever met in politics. Is that right . He is as good a man as god ever created. Despite their decades long friendship. Joe biden is a good friend. But if were going to look at corruption in the ukraine, were going to look at both sides. Ship wrecked. The president fires the secretary of the navy for trying to punish navy seal Eddie Gallagher who mr. Trump had reinstated. This is all abo