Transcripts For MSNBCW MSNBC Live With Hallie Jackson 20190405

Stage this hour with a new call from one senator to blow up the rules on capitol hill. We are bringing all that action to you live as another candidate joins us. Democrat Julian Castro. Joe biden in public for the First Time Since those accusations against him emerged. He will be speaking in an hour from now. The new clues he is readying his campaign as we get a preview of a potential election showdown. The president just in the last five minutes weighing in on this wouldbe opponent. We have our team here covering all of it in what is turning into a very busy friday morning. The president is headed to the southern border after backing down on closing that border altogether and as the white house, we learned, has yanked his nominee to lead i. C. E. The fight over his tax returns. The president saying the Justice Department could become involved and speaking of the Justice Department, that brewing fight over the mueller report. Democrats now going a step forth asking for more than just the special counsels findings. I want to start with Kelly Odonnell live inside the Briefing Room. The president spoke to reporters for seven or eight minutes and to give our viewers a sense of this, we are about to play out what the president had to say, hear it for ourselves. The roar of the helicopter has just diminished. The president has lifted off from the south lawn, so, technically, it takes a little time to turn that tape around, but a number of topics. Pardon me. The president has engaged on issues that will drive the days news for sure. He is heading to the southern border. He talked about his change after making very vivid threats that he would close the border as early as this week saying it was very likely that he would do so. Now, he is not doing that and he claims that it is because mexico is engaged now and doing more along its own southern border to stop the flow of migrants who would be traveling north through mexico with an aim to get to the United States. So, in the span of just a couple of days, he claims that mexico is altering its conduct. We dont have any independent verification of that yet. We also know that the president had a lot of different people telling him it would be an economic mess to try to close the border. Not only for u. S. Companies and individuals, but the relationships with the United States and mexico. He is still threatening to impose tariffs or penalties on cars being sold from mexico into the United States as a lingering sort of stick that hes going to dangle. Also asked about joe biden today. The former Vice President has a big speech. He was asked about his own tweet that mocked biden after bidens troubles of late. Dealing with his infringing on the personal space of several women. The president saying that hes a good messenger. He thinks he himself is a good messenger and not threatened by biden as a candidate. Well hear more full context as that plays out. Jobs numbers that are strong for today and the president also saying with that change you alluded to about an i. C. E. Official the nomination being withdrawn, he wants to be tougher. So, right now in the Briefing Room here, i hear the tape being sort of played back and rewound. Good old School Preparation to let the networks know when that tape will be available. It should be coming up soon. Do we have a time yet . And i think its going to be coming up here shortly. Producer Kelly Odonnell. Thank you. Well ask you to stand by. We also want to get a live look at senator Kamala Harris speaking at that National Action conference in new york and we want to listen in to see what she has to say. A personal reason i am running. My sister and i were raised by a mother that was five feet tall and if you met her you would have thought she was seven feet tall. If you ever came home complaining about something, the first thing she would do is look at you and shed say, well, what are you going to do about it . So, i decided to run for president of the United States. But today i would like to talk with all of the leaders here about the first reason. The importance of truth and the importance of justice. Like many of the leaders in this room, i was raised by parents who were active in the civil rights movement. And for my sister, maya, and me, the question was never whether you would join the fight for justice. The question was, what will you do in your fight for justice . And as we know calls for one standard of justice. And heres a truth that this room knows all too well. In america, justice has not been applied equally for all. And, so, lets talk about that. You have been listening to senator Kamala Harris, of course, a president ial candidate for 2020 speaking at the National Action network conference. The civil rights conference in new york city. Were going to be coming back to hear what she and other candidates have to say. Were now within 60 seconds from hearing from President Trump and the senior washington correspondent there along with jeff mason, Reuters White House correspondent on set and we also have jill, former federal assistant special prosecutor for water gate and msnb contributor, as well. I want to go to my political journalists here because the president made some news here on the south lawn. Were about to hear it. Remember, hes leaving to head to the border and talked also about Michael Cohen and the white house Correspondents Dinner and a whole variety of topics essentially. The president has a lot on his mind and he wants to be getting it out there. The fact that he is weighing in on joe biden and that sort of gift the other inei interesting to me how engaged he is getting and as far as the border is concerned, he went back and forth on this yesterday and needed to clarify it a little bit yesterday. Saying he would close the border last week and close the border this week and then say he will not close it for a year. Introducing car tariffs as a potential thing which some people are saying he cant even do and youre covering getting to congress. A confusing week for him politically in terms of some of those threats. But he is going to the border now and that will be a visual. He seems to want to focus on that. Feels like hes throwing up everything on the wall to see what will stick. The last 48 hours, though, have been really bad for the president. You know, he was coming off of a ton of investigation that democrats are going to start with an onslot. They want his tax records and i believe it is a muddled strategy to change the topic. Exactly. So, were going to look at the president here. That is that tape play back from moments ago coming out to speak to reporters. Well listen in. Economic numbers just came out and theyre very, very good. Our country is doing unbelievable well economically. Most of you dont report that because it doesnt sound good from your perspective. But the country is doing really, really well. We have a lot of very exciting things going on. A lot of companies will be announcing shortly theyre moving back into the United States. Theyre all coming back. They want to be where the action is. Im heading to the border. Were building a lot of wall. Well show you a section and a lot of things are happening. A lot of very positive things are happening. What should the fed do with Interest Rates . Well, i personally think the fed should drop rates. I think they really slowed us down. Theres no inflation. I would say in terms of quantitative tightening, it should actually now be quantitative easing. Very little, if any inflation and they should drop rates and quantitative tightening. You should see a rocket ship. Despite that, were doing very well. Were going in a little different direction. Ron is a good man, but were going in a tougher direction. We want to go in a tougher direction. What exactly is offensive about joe bidens behavior and are you the right messenger for that . I think im the right messenger and people got a kick out of it. Hes going through a situation. Lets see what happens. We have to sort of smile a little bit, right . Do you see joe biden as a threat . No, i dont see joe biden as a threat. I dont see him as a threat. I think hes only a threat to himself. I just dont see him as a threat. Hes been there a long time. His record is not good. He would have to run on the obama failed record. You look at what happened with so many different things, north korea, the middle east, the economy never got going. No, i dont think joe is a threat. Look, id be happy with any of them, to be honest. I never changed my mind at all. I may shut it down at some point. But i would rather do tariffs. So, mexico, i have to say, has been very, very good. You know that. Over the last four days. Since i talked about shutting down the border. If they continue that, everything will be fine. If they dont, were going to tariff their cars at 25 coming into the United States. So every time they make a car, its a 25 tariff. That means we make money as opposed to lose money. We probably bring those Car Companies back into the United States. But if on the other hand it doesnt work, 100 , the tariffs will work, just like they work with steel. Our Steel Industry is so hot because of what i did with tariffs. Same thing with aluminum. Theyll work. If they didnt work, i would close the border. Also, im looking at an economic penalty for all the drugs that are coming in through the southern border. And killing our people. The china meeting was a big success. I think were going to have, look, we have a very good relationship. Were going to see. I dont want to predict a deal or not a deal, but were very well along. We rarely negotiated the two hardest points very successfully for our country. And china understands, you know, china has taken advantage of our country for 30 years. And we cant do that any more. Because mexico has been absolutely terrific for the last four days. Theyre apprehending everybody. Yesterday they apprehended 1,400 people and the day before it was 1,000. And if they apprehend people at their southern border where they dont have to walk through, thats a big home run. We can handle it from there. Its really good. Now, congress has to act. They have to get rid of chain migration and visa lottery. They have to get rid of the whole asylum system because it doesnt work. And, frankly, we should get rid of judges. You cant have a court case every time somebody steps their foot on our ground. So, very important that congress acts. But mexico, for the last four days, its never happened like that in 35 years. This will supou supersede us am. Are you going to the conference dinner or hold a rally . Im going to hold a rally. Because the dinner is so boring and so negative, were going to hold a positive rally instead. We havent determined. We have about three sites. Everybody wants it. It will be a big one. But the Correspondents Dinner is too negative. I like positive things, okay. No, theyve already got it. He lied numerous times during his last testimony. They had that for many months. Oh, i dont know. Thats up to whoever handles it. Hey, im under order, but that is up to whoever it is. From what i understand, the law is 100 on my side. Venezuela is a mess. This is what socialism brings. You elect a socialist here, youll elect the same exact countries. Thank you. You have been watching President Trump speak with reporters on the white house south lawn. He got on that chopper and now landing and getting ready to take off from joint base andrews and head to the west coast to california where hes set for a border visit this afternoon. Lots of headlines there as you can see the president about to disembark. In new york, my msnbc colleague Stephanie Ruhle stuck around to talk about everything economy and former assistant special watergate prosecutor is with us and anna and jeff. Lots of headlines on the border and the withdrawal of the person he had picked to lead i. C. E. And on joe biden and on trade and also on the white house Correspondents Dinner of venezuela, as well. Talk what stood out to you and how you would characterize the president this morning. He was defiant and ready to take our questions and he did want to tout those economic numbers you were talking to steph about. I am curious to see what she thinks about. He wants to see the Interest Rates drop. The other headlines, of course, the big news of the day. The fact that hes going to the border on a day after he essentially back tracked on d that threat just a few days ago, b k backtracked away from it yesterday saying he is giving mexico a year. You heard him deny that was a back track and when i pressed him on it, he said the reason hes not closing the border this week is because hes arguing mexico is now stepping up. They are arresting more people at the border. So, thats a big headline. On the joe biden piece of it, of course, weve seen him mock the former Vice President amid those allegations of touching that made some women, they say, feel uncomfortable. Of course, President Trump when he was a candidate faced allegations of sexual misconduct, as well as that access hollywood tape. He was asked if he was the right messenger and he said, yes, he is. I asked him if this is an indication that he sees biden as a big threat. Take a look. I dont see him as a threat. I think hes only a threat to himself. I just dont see him as a threat. Hes been there a long time. His record is not good. Hed have to run on the obama failed record. You look at what happened with so many different things. North korea, the middle east, the economy never got going. No, i dont think joe is a threat. Look, id be happy with any of them. So, there you have that 2020 headline. A couple others, hallie, you mentioned with the i. C. E. Nominee. The president said theyre going in a different direction and a tougher direction. It is notable, though, because he was supposed to travel with President Trump today to the border and then, of course, the president announcing he is not, in fact, going to the white house dinner. I asked him where that rally is going to be. No answer on that, hallie. I appreciate it. Steph ruhle, lets go to you and talk about the economy. Let me set the table for folks. Those job numbers came out 196,000 new jobs added and Unemployment Rate remained at 3. 8 . That is a number better than economists predicted. A reality check. When the president , is he right . At 10 08 40 he said we need to cut Interest Rates and go into quantitative easing. The economy is doing well. 500 points away from hitting an alltime high. That is a Strong Economy in terms of the markets. But for the president to say now we need to cut rates. You cut Interest Rates when things arent going well. When you need to lower rates to incents ha incents ha s havs ha incent incentvise people. The markets doing as well as it is, you cannot possibly make both of these arguments. It was a week ago today that larry cud lkudlow said we need t rates and now the greatest economy ever. You cannot have it both ways, but, what the president isnt acknowledging is there are two economies. The markets are doing really well and those who own Financial Assets are doing well. A tale of two economies. And simply cutting rates isnt go going to do anything for the people at the bottom of the scale. The people need to get paid more and trained for better jobs. They need those jobs to offer health care. The argument that the president is trying to make is nonsensical. Steph, important context there. Thank you for hanging out a little longer. Anna and jeff, we were listening to the president there. I want to make sure we dont lose sight of what he talked to related to the border. Well talk about tax returns in a second, too. We want to play you what he had to say related to the Border Closure that he has been threatening for seven or eight days now. Watch. I never changed my mind at all. I may shut it down at some point. But id rather do tariffs. So, mexico, i have to say, has been very, very good. You know that. Over the last four days. Since i talked about shutting down the border. If they continue that, everything will be fine. If they dont, were going to tariff their cars at 25 coming into the United States. So, every time they make a car, its a 25 tariff. That means we make money as opposed to lose money. You know, i was with the president last week when he said he would shut the border. He was in florida and at maralago and absolutely serious about it. Backlash from republicans and he back tracked. The other thing the president made news on, he is preparing for a legal battle over his tax returns. Jill, i want to bring you in on this, as well. There is new reporting on this. We heard anna say, it is up to whoever. Im under audit. The law is 100 on my side. I have spoken with democratic members of congress who 100 disagree that the law is 100 on the president s side. We reached out multiple times to the president s legal team and we have not heard a response to them and nor have we heard a response yet from the Treasury Department or the irs who are the ones being asked for these returns. Not the president. Democrats are not going to stop because the president said, oh, im under audit. You saw the speakers respond to Congress Last week in a very sober minded way saying we are going to get the returns just because he says no doesnt mean were not going to keep pressing forward. Jill, New York Times is in saying the information of counsel be a priority. The senator asked Mitch Mcconnell to prioritize a confirmation vote for his nominee to be the head of the irs indicating it was a higher priority than the nomination of his attorney general, essentially, according to a person familiar with the conversation. How does this strike you . It is certainly very unusual. Not the kind of position the general counsel of the Internal Revenue service that would normally be something that the president of the United States would pay any attention to. So, it leaves open to question whether he was looking for his roy cohn who would protect him at the irs knowing that the democrats were going to be asking for his tax returns. And in terms of the law, there is a section 6103 in the revenue code that makes it very clear that the chairman of the house ways and Means Committee can request and the secretary must provide his tax returns, if requested on any filer. And that law was passed in 1924 because andrew melon who was then the secretary of the treasurer and congress felt they needed to see whether his personal interests were superseding that in terms of the American People in terms of tax policy. So, there is a very clear rule that they can request and they must get his tax returns. So, i think in terms of that, they will prevail. Although this is a fight that will likely end up at the Supreme Court, no . Yes. I think this president will not take it lightly and will fight it. But then we have to ask, why is he hiding his taxes . What is it in there . Normally you dont learn that much from a tax return. Id rather see his bank records and see all of the banks that he does business with because well learn much more for that. But i do think there is at least the possibility that he isnt as rich as he says he is and thats what he doesnt want us to know. Jill winebanks, thank you much. Nothing legally prevents the president from releasing those returns even if they are under audit. Thanks. I want to thank kelly and steph, as well. A lot going on this hour. You just saw the president speak. He talked about joe biden. Joe biden will speak in about 45 minutes or so from now. His first public appearance since the allegations of inappropriate touching. Well look at what he might say or not say as the president steps up his own attacks on the former vp. We are watching what is happening on stage in new york. The National Action network conference. Getting ready to take the stage as another candidate. Julian castro joins us to respond to all of this in just a minute. Nute iwith uncontrollederson who moderatetosevere eczema,. Or atopic dermatitis. You feel like youre itching all the time. And you never know how your skin will look. Because deep within your skin. An overly sensitive immune system. Could be the cause. So help heal your skin from within. With dupixent. Dupixent is not a steroid,. And it continuously treats your eczema. Even when you cant see it. At 16 weeks, nearly four times more patients taking dupixent saw clear or almost cleit. Skinng. And patients saw a significant reduction in itch. Do not use if you are allergic to dupixent. Serious allergic reactions can occur, including anaphylaxis, a severe reaction. Tell your doctor if you have new or worsening eye problems, including eye pain or changes in vision. If you are taking asthma medicines, do not change or stop your asthma medicine without talking to your doctor. Help heal your skin from within. Ask your eczema specialist about dupixent. We have some developing news from the Supreme Court this hour. I want to bring in nbc news justice correspondent pete williams. Pete, what are we hearing . This is sbhng thomething tha been a persistent rumor that justice will respond and he has put that to rest at an appearance in pepperdine university. It was last weekend, but the video was just recently posted online and the exchanges that the moderator says to him, who would you like to speak at your Retirement Party in 20 years . And thomas says, im not retiring. But he says in 20 years. And he says, im not retiring. And there he is saying he is not going to leave. The speculation has been prominently displayed in some places. The new yorker magazine suggested he will retire now that there is a conservative majority on the floor. He is invigorated by being in the majority now with his new conservative majority on the Supreme Court and now he, himself, has said he is not going anywhere. Pete, do you get any sense of that speculation is what prompted the justice to be so emphatic he is not retiring in the first place . I kind of doubt it. I think he has always known he was not going anywhere and scoffed at that. But, anyway, faced with the actual question and the prospect, he said he is not retiring. Pete williams, thank you for that quick update. Appreciate it. Right now President Trump is on his way back to the southern border after backing away from his threat to close it right away. Take this trip down memory lane with us. And if they dont stop them, were closing the border. Theyll close it. And well keep it closed for a long time. Im not playing games. It certainly isnt a bluff. You can take the president seriously. Were going to give them a oneyear warning and if the drugs dont stop or largely stop, were going to put tariffs. And if that doesnt stop the drugs, we close the border. I dont think well ever have to close the border. Joining me now 2020 president ial candidate Julian Castro served as the secretary of housing and urban development in the obama administration. Secretary castro, thank you for being on the show. Great to be with you, hallie. Lets start. One of the few candidates who have unveiled, among the candidates who unveiled a very detailed immigration plan for you for 2020. Obviously an issue you thought a lot about. When the president says he wants to, for example, put auto tariffs in place before closing the border, do you think that is at least a better solution than sealing off the border altogether . Well, i think that this president and the American People can see this. This is just one more example that he has been a total failure when it comes to the issue of immigration. You know, if we go back just one year, his administration told us that if we could just be cruel enough to separate little children from their parents, that that would deter and that would stop more families from coming from Central America to our border and here we are, a year later, and actually the opposite of that is true. There are more people who are coming. And, so, you know, all of the hystiysterics he is engaging in all of this is trying to hide the fact that hes actually failed and what ive said is that i dont believe we should be treating folks who are fleeing a dangerous situation, a lot of women and children and families, as criminals. This president wants us to believe that we have to choose between Border Security and compassion. What i believe is that our border has been more secure, is more secure than it ever has been. That we can maintain that security. But instead of cruelty, that we should choose compassion. One of your opponents, beto orourke talked about the rhetoric that the president used on this topic of immigration. I want to play a little bit of that for you. The president of the United States has called mexican immigrants rapists and criminals. Now, we would not be surprised if in the third other human beings were described as an infestation as a cockroach or pest you want to kill. Would you go that far and make that sames clear what he to do. And thats very similar whether its to what Congress Orourke was talking about or other regimes that try and dehumanize other people. Do you think that is kind of appropriate rhetoric here . I think one of the things that that regime did was to dehumanize people. There have been other regimes that also dehumanized people. Fortunately, we havent traveled down, of course, the same path. And we wont because this country is better than that. And i believe that this president is going to get defeated in 2020. However, its very clear that we have a president who is bound and determined to dehumanize people to create a fear and paranoia about them in order to boost his own political fortunes. And youll see, hallie, every time this issue of investigation gets heated up, again. This very weird incidents where hes trying to get, you know, prioritizing the appointment of the irs general counsel all of a sudden its back to the border. Back to the focus on immigrants that are going to come over here and invade and he uses this every time he gets in trouble. Its his stand by. Thats what hes doing right now. Secretary, i want to ask about other news, as well, before i let you go. You are someone who served in the obama biden administration. Biden will speak for the first time publicly on stage since the allegations of inappropriate touching have come out. How can and should do you believe joe biden redeem himself . Well, you know, what i said is that it is good that in 2019, we live in an america where the women who came forward our belief can be believed and feel comfortable coming forward because for so long people have not come forward. They have not been believed when they did. And we need, we needed to change that. That has been, i think, one of the best outcomes of the me too movement. Vice President Biden put out his statement in a video. I believe that hes a good man. And i think that he recognizes that its not only about what you intend, but its also about how that is taken. And he has said that hes going to approach these things differently. And, so, you know, its going to be up to him and up to the American People to make of that what they will. Secretary, really quickly before i let you go. You havent released your fundraising numbers yet. You have a week to do so. Have you reached that donor threshold to be on that debate stage come june . Were getting closer and closer. I have not yet. So, were getting closer and closer. So, folks could still donate. But we have not, we will release the fundraising numbers in the next couple days. Got it. 2020 president ial candidate Julian Castro. Thank you. The third and final day of that National Action network convectico convention where a whole bunch of the 2020 candidates are making their pitch to civil rights leaders, you can see John Hickenlooper on stage right now and Kamala Harris just wrapped up and were also moments away from hearing alexandria ocasiocortez. Shes cant. S run for president. Bernie sanders, cory booker will all be speaking. You can see the timeline there. We want to play a little bit more of what we heard from senator harris just a couple moments ago. In america, justice has not been applied equally for all. And, so, lets talk about that. And lets speak truth that in the last two years it has gotten even worse. Lets speak truth that in the last two years, we have seen hate crimes on the rise, but what has this administration done . Investigated 60 fewer civil rights cases, slashed programs for fighting violent white nationalest extremists and shut down the domestic terrorism intelligence unit. That is not justice. That is injustice. When black americans are more than twice as likely to live in poverty in this country. Instead of lifting up working families, this administration gave a tax cut to the top 1 and the biggest corporations of this country. Those folks dont need that money. We know in moments like this, it is time not to throw up our hands. It is time to roll up our sleeves because when we work and when we fight and when we march and when we speak up and when we offer solutions, we win. Joining me now, director of progressive programming and Michael Steele joins us on set with anna and jeff. Michael, ill start with you. How important is this stop for these 2020 candidates when it comes to primary . I guess its important. You know, this is such an early phase of the campaign. You want to make the stop. But heres my problem. Whats the agenda were going to take away from this as africanamericans. Is reparations really the first thing on our list . Maybe i missed that meeting. Every person who has been here has been asked about this as this conference and the conference has put that on center stage. So, orourke, julhu julian cast asked. We cant give Voting Rights so can we get smart about what the agenda is and what africanamericans are really talking about in their neighborhoods and communities. I dont need white candidates or any candidates coming across the stage pandering to what they think the black community wants. And, so, what about, what about how creating paing so the kids e sitting in failing classrooms have a pathway to this Economic Prosperity that Everyone Wants to talk about. So, i think there is another way to come at this. This is, this is pro forma. What i heard and what i see is pro forma is the same stuff and, you know, folks will take it in and absorb it, but i want to see something that is really going to come from the community that these candidates latch on to that is something other than the sound bite and the talking point of what they think it is. Reverend sharpton said they have to answer for their records and they said this. The question for the candidates now is, did you grow and therefore see that you were wrong on these various issues or did you do it because you felt it was politically right for you then and you feel Something Else is politically right for you now . Show me the growth, he says. Right. Well, i think that is a really important point. To michaels point. You know, i tried it with kamala harr harris before her speech and she was talking in the frame which michael is just describing, which is pretty ironic i think. Because she was talking specifically about this idea of justice versus injustice and injustice really representing the inequities and education and black communities living in poverty. And not able to access that economic ladder and opportunities, just as michael was laying out. So i feel like that is Kamala Harris message and i think that is the core point of her message and i think that, you know, she has everyone running has a record that they have to explain. Part of her record that shes going to have to explain, particularly the black community, is that she was a prosecutor and we have a complicated relationship in terms of how we feel about district attorneys and prosecutors, particularly because when the police kill us, prosecutors are the ones that come out and tell us that no one is going to get in trouble for that. And i think that, as a prosecutor, Kamala Harris sees her role differently. She said i was going inside the system in order to reform the system. Thats a case she has to make for the voters. But i think to your point and your question about trying to explain your record to the voters so that they can support you and to show your evolution on these issues, i think that is something that these candidates are doing well so far and im looking forward to see what biden says today because im hoping to hearing from him and im open to hearing him, hearing the specific ways in which he is going to change his behavior going forward. And you importance of candidates talking about their records and a lot has been said about how Kamala Harris is going after the black vote in some key early states. But black people arent going to vote for black candidates just because of otheir race, there has to be something more to it. Absolutely right. I think thats right and thats why this sort of leadoff pitch to me is so annoying because i spent a lot of time in my community, believe it or not. And when youre standing in a line at a walmart or a starbucks or a gas station, they will tell you exactly what is important to them right now. And they are concerned about the future of their kids and the educational system and their Small Business operations. And, so, lets hear the candidates speak to that. Zarlinas point, there is some nuance and complicated history when it comes to issues like criminal justice are form, too. Absolutely. I think all these candidates have an opportunity to explain in specifics what theyre going to do. One of the things kamala said to me this morning. Senator harris said to me this morning. Im not just about articulating what the problem is. A lot of candidates are very good at getting people very excited about, you know, x is a very big problem and everybody claps. But what comes after that . What are you going to do about it . I dont want to hear about the problem, i want to hear your solutions. I think thats what voters are very much excited to hear from these candidates this cycle. Thank you both for that conversation. I appreciate it. Weve shown you now these candidates who are speaking at that National Action Network Convention stage. There is another stage where another candidate potentially, potential candidate, will be making an appearance. Joe biden as were now just within 25, 30 minutes from his first onstage, oncamera appearance since the new complaints about his behavior. He will be arriving at this d. C. Hotel any minute. Were talking about that and the hometown visit that is putting 2020 speculation into over drooivdro drive. So next hour in just about 30 minutes here in washington. Joe biden will make his first public appearance on a stage since things blew up over his past interactions with women. Now the former vp made him uncomfortable in certains way. President trump disregarding his own troubled history with women. Trolling biden on twitter. Tweeting out a parody that was originally posted by a youtuber. I see you are on the job as president ial as always. Just within the last hour, President Trump was asked about the wisdom and whether he is the right messenger in mocking joe biden. What exactly is offensive about joe bidens behavior and are you the right messenger for that . I think im a very good messenger and people got a kick out of it. He is going through a situation. Lets see what happens. But people got a kick. We have to smile a little bit. Joined now by president and ceo of the center of American Progress and jeff and anna, as well. Is President Trump the right one . No. I think the idea that a president who is accused of Sexual Assault by 19 women mocking joe biden is exactly the kind of thing that is going to make democrats, Many Democrats who have been critical of the Vice President s behavior rally around the Vice President. Because, obviously, the behavior of the Vice President many can argue it is inappropriate or appropriate but away from what the president has been accused of. Instead of taking any of this seriously is a demonstration that he is a terrible, terrible messenger and a terrible messenger to women and the country. Joe biden has had that, obviously, twitter video out and speaking on stage fairly soon here. Do you think he needs to say more about it at this event . How would you like to see him handle that today . I think he should speak to the event. I think he also needs to respond to the president. Today. You think he should do it today . My free counsel is to actually talk about what happened this week, what hes learned from it. I think its important for a candidate, particularly joe biden, to show that he gets it. He did that in his video, but i also think its an opportunity to respond to the president of the United States. Joe biden has a long record on womens issues. As he has pointed out. Campus Sexual Assault. He has been out there on these issues and an opportunity for him to talk about his record versus the president of the United States. Anniethe New York Times this morning about this whole issue. She writes in mocking mr. Biden, the president is opening himself up to charges of hypocrisy and reinviting an examination of his own behavior toward women and behavior that hes denied or refused to discuss. It clearly didnt hurt him. He got elected. Sure did. Hes moved forward. I think the bigger question really is what does joe biden do . He did a video. Hes been able to control the message. Can he take the fire from the press . How does he respond in real life because i think that is what has been missing from the last five to six days. Think you also saw that joe biden is willing to go back against the president. Hes ready to engage on that. Hell go straight for what he sees is a weakness that donald trump is not president ial and hes spending time sending out tweets instead of governing. Joe biden feels confident he can overcome this. What i would say about the president is it is the case that there is a gigantic gender gap in the country and the president has deep opposition from many women, particularly suburban women so he may think hes fine with this examination, and i think a lot of whats been fueling the resistance in this country are women who feel like donald trump regularly assaults their values and dignity and any discussion of this by the president i think is a big mistake as he goes into reelection. Its certainly not what the Republican Party wants to be talking about either. No one in the house and no one in the senate up in 2020 wants to have this. There is also a generational gap, as well which is something that well be talking more about. Thank you very much for talking about that. You, two, stick around. As were watching the National Network conference. Well bring in pieces of their speeches and we can listen in to Bernie Sanders on stage. The a sassassination of dr. Martin luther king, one of the great leaders of american history. We all remember where dr. King was when he was murdered. He was standing with the most exploited workers in the United States of america, sanitation workers in memphis, tennessee. And we all remember what dr. King was working on during the months before his assassination. He was working on a poor peoples march which said that we have got to bring together poor people, whether theyre black or white or latino, nativeamerican, asianamerican. We have to come together to transform this country and change our national priorities, and what dr. King believed then is true today. And today we have a president for cheap, political reasons who is trying to divide us up by the color of our skin or where we were born or our Sexual Orientation and we say, President Trump, youre not going to get away with it. Youre not going to succeed. We believe in bringing the American People together, not dividing us up. We are here at a Pivotal Moment in a fight for Racial Justice and as that struggle goes forward there is good news and there is bad news. The very good news is that despite enormous opposition, we have made some Real Progress in ree recent years. 20 years ago we were sitting here and we said, you know, this country will elect a black president of the United States, very few people would have believed it. It happened and obama was reelected in 2012. [ applause ] today, after the 2018 election, the Congressional Black Caucus now has the largest number of members in its entire history. No small thing, and in the last election we saw great campaigns run for governor by stacy abrams, Andrew Gillum and ben gilles. They lost, but gilchrist became the first elected black lieutenant governors in michigan, Real Progress. So we have made some progress, but clearly, all of us recognize that we have a long way to go to end the institutional racism that permeates almost every aspect of american society, and that is the bad news that keeps us up at night, and it gives me no pleasure and i say this sincerely. I think sometimes the media doesnt believe that. It gives me no pleasure to tell you that we have a president today who issa racist, who is a sexist, who is a home phonophob who is a xenophobe and who is a religious bigot. I wish i didnt have to say that, but that is the damn truth, and we have to say it. [ cheers and applause ] during Donald Trumps presidency, we have seen a sharp rise in hate crimes and that rise comes as this country continues to be plagued by institutional racism and racial inequality. As many of you know, my campaign for president now and the last campaign is about demanding that we have a government that represents all of us, not just the 1 . Its about saying there is something fundamentally wrong in this nation when you have three people who own more wealth than the bottom half of america, at the same time as millions of our people are working two or three jobs just to survive. It is saying there is something wrong when 46 of new income goes to the top 1 when we have the highest rate of childhood poverty of almost every major country on earth and when millions of our young people are leaving School Deeply in debt. So as your president , there will be nothing more important to me than taking on these extremely powerful people and ending this horrific level of income and wealth disparity. We see in this country a disparity which is now worse than any kind since the 1920s, but this is what we also know, maybe the most important point that i want to make this morning that we must take on the disparity within the disparity, the Racial Disparities which exist in this country which is also growing wider and wider. So you have two disparities, a general disparity and you have a racial disparity. Today, the infant mortality rate in black communities is more than double the rate in White Communities and cancer, Heart Disease and many other illnesses is far higher than blacks, unbelievably, unbelievably. Black women are more than three times more likely to die from pregnancy than white women. When we talk about disparity we are talking about the need for more black doctors, more black dentists, more black nurses, more black psychologists. We are talking about guaranteeing healthcare for all americans as a right, but at the same time ending the longstanding disparities which exist within the health care system. When we talk about disparities we talk about black children facing harsher punishment in schools than other students and School Districts which are significantly under funded compared to white School Districts. When were talking about disparities we are talking about black men who are sentenced to 19 more jail time for committing the same, exact crimes as white men and africanamericans who are jailed at more than five times the rates of whites. Our job together is to end disparities in education and to bring fundamental reform to a very broken criminal justice system. Today, studies show africanamerican job applicants receive far fewer job callbacks than other applicants and we still see the same level of hiring discrimination that we saw 30 years ago. Together, we will end the disparities in racism that exist in employment practices. Today African Americans are facing higher Interest Rates on loans and mortgages than others with a similar credit score and black business, and Small Businesses are unable to get the affo Affordable Credit they need to grow and expand. Today at a time when 80 , when women are earning 80 of what men are earning on average, black women are earning 61 . That is unacceptable, equal pay for equal work, whether youre plaq black or white, male or female, equal pay for equal work. Today on the 400th anniversary. Not an anniversary that were proud of, but the anniversary of the first africans being brought to this country in slavery, the average black family now has onetenth the wealth of the average white family. The truth is that t