Stay tuned. Im about to turn it out. Coming up, more news right now with hallie jackson. You better get ready. I might challenge you. Mr. Just do 60 minutes of Stephanie Ruhle dancing. Im ready. I cant wait. We do have a show, though. Its capitol hill, breaking news. We have a lot to follow the next 60 minutes. House leadership or not first time will be on camera and on the spot. Facing questions about President Trumps racist tweets attacking four democratic congresswomen. At the podium on the right is where we will see minority leader Kevin Mccarthy, and other members of gop leadership. On The Other Side of the aisle, House Democrats also set to speak ahead of a vote tonight on a symbolic resolution after the president suggested the squad go back to their home countries. President Donald Trumps racist comments have legitimized fear
and hatred of new americans and people of color. We have our team chasing the latest developments and all the other big stories this hour. Kasie hunt on capitol hill. Kelly odonnell at the white house. Kasie, what are you learning as you are in the hall ways talking with members of congress some what do you think we will hear the next couple of minutes with leader mccarthy and others come out for the first time on camera since the president made those remarks . Reporter republicans really on the spot here, hallie. And so far we have seen a pretty wide range of responses with a handful of republicans calling the president s remarks inappropriate. Senator tim scott the only africanamerican republican in the senate talking about them being racially charged. But others have essentially defended the president and said they dont think these remarks are racist. These tweets he put out on Sunday Morning. I key test for republican
leaders and for the part a party that has largely acquiesced to the way this president does business. Not just the policies he implements but the ways in which he talks about various, you know the ways in which he talks about africanamericans, people of color, women of color, the language that he used. And my question is, are we going to hear from these republicans that theyre, again, not paying attention to the tweets because thats what tom tillis said yesterday when he was talking with reporters. And that was often how paul ryan, the former House Speaker, would handle questions about things like this. But this is really a topic that has so crossed the line. So many lines, quite frankly, that it seems unlikely to me thats what is going to happen. We will hear from the Senate Majority leader later in the day. And of course we already have
aoc tweeting this morning about how the president , in her words, does not want to be the president of the United States. He just he does not want to be the president for those who disagree with him, hallie. So set to be another day of focus on all of this. Stay close to a camera. Kelly odonnell, one of the things we showed was a new tweet from President Trump out within the last couple of seconds here. And the president vociferously denying, saying i do not have a racist bone in my body. Saying those tweets were not racist. Trying to handle the fallout from this, day three. Reporter there is a mix of strategies, it would appear. The president doubling down if you love our country, stay. If you dont love the United States, youre free to go sort of rhetoric. And it appears the president is able to sense that the pushback has gone beyond democrats to a
broader audience of some republicans who, as kasie described, uncomfortable and put in a hot spotlight and put in a position to defend it. The president is showing his resolve to keep arguing this way. At the same time, these sort of hints of his discomfort that the way it plays, as the president so often likes to assess, how is this message of his resounding in the political space. Theres been so much negativity to this, the president is adding more, trying to defend himself. And that is a bit of a shift. We did not see in our interactions with the president yesterday this defensive tone in terms of him saying that im not a racist. I dont have a racist bone in my body, as he just did on twitter. Right. Reporter that was not the voice of the president yesterday. So there does to be some movement, hallie, which is important for us to watch. There is potential today will we have an opportunity to see the
president on camera. He has a Cabinet Meeting that is not planned to be open press. Will he take the opportunity to have cameras inside there and another chance for him to address the cameras . Given the fact that he is tweeting, one might say he is looking for an avenue to say more about this and to counter the steps being taken on capitol hill. And in some ways, to try to provide cover or distance from the republicans who have been pressured to comment on this. Hallie . Kelly odonnell there at the white house. I dont think we are getting out of our skis to suggest perhaps the president will at that Cabinet Meeting, as he has done so often in the past, will want to open it up to cameras. That is next hour. This hour, we are still keeping an eye on what is going down on the hill. House Republican Leadership set to speak any minute. So whats going to happen, the leaders will come up, make their opening remarks, and take questions. We will bring you those questions live. We expect our colleagues and the press corps there will be asking
about this. I want to bring in lana summers, mat, anita and other folks joining us for a conversation. And analysts. One thing Kelly Odonnell talked about, the republicans who are Feeling Pressure to respond essentially, or getting asked to respond. One is senator ted cruz. I want to play for you what he had to say. I wouldnt send these particular tweets. But ill tell you, the substance of their record is indefensible. The substance of their record is extreme, its radical. And i think we ought to be talking about the substance of their record. The substance about why they send tweets minimizing 9 11, minimizing al qaeda when they attacked america on 9 11. Thats troubling. Let me is ask your view on this. Matt, this seems to be where republicans have coalesced, at least the majority of them, distancing themselves from the tweet itself, stopping short of calling the tweet racist with the exception of, for example, will hurd, yet going after the
policies of some of these Democratic Women . Yeah. I think its a balance of them. Mitt romney, Susan Collins to the president s closer allies like dan crenshaw and Lindsey Graham speaking out on this. A lot of democrats are frustrated. Up until this weekend, all washington was talking about were the divisions. Now the president inserted himself into this. You have not just the squad but all united against him. So i think there is some frustration on that part. But i think as we see later on today, Mitch Mcconnell will address it, gop leadership will address it. Paul mitchell spoke out against it already. I think we will see more as the day goes on, quite frankly what do you need to hear from leader mccarthy and others who will be stepping up to the podium live on msnbc here in a minute . Im afraid what they wont say, which is make an unequivocal comment about these
comments, to distance themselves from their abhorrent beliefs and to say plain and clear for the American Public to hear that even if we have enormously complicated parties and partisan beliefs and disagreements we dont have to get nasty and personal and to assault another human being and to stoop down to racism. And what is it about the republicans, the lack of spine, the lack of insight, the lack of courage, the lack of will . To use euphemism this is unacceptable. No. This is far more than unacceptable. This is a racist reaction to people who are brown and black who get in the face of the president by virtue of just existing and by putting forward policies, recommendations, arguments and ideas that suggest to him that he doesnt have the only Pulley Pulpit in town and he has to listen to somebody besides himself. But the ability for republicans to stand up and say that is a marked indication of not only their moral lack of courage but
it is the lack of vision that will lead this nation forward. Today is all about the republicanss response. We will hear from House Leadership on the gop side. We expect to hear from Mitch Mcconnell and Senate Leadership later in the day. Already, though, we saw the tweet from alexandra ocasiocortez. We saw the united front from the socalled squad late yesterday. I want to play for you the back and forth. President trump and the four democratic congresswomen. Watch. If you hate our country, if youre not happy here, you can leave. Weak minds and leaders challenge loyalty to our country in order to avoid challenging and debating the policy. Given the size of this squad and this great nation, we cannot, we will not be silenced. In one case you have somebody that comes from somalia, which is a failed government, a failed
state, who left somalia, who ultimately came here and now is a congresswoman who is never happy. He would love nothing more than to divide our country based on race, religion, gender, orientation, or immigration status. This is not the first, nor will it be the last time, we hear disgusting bigoted language from the president. They hate our country. They hate it, i think, with a passion. Now, its possible if im wrong. The voter will decide. Lots of impact there. Matt, let me go to you. He seems to be trying to want to make this squad the face of the democratic party. Do you believe he is succeeding in that . I think he is. And i think actually its beneficial to both. I think both the squad and the trump reelect to do this. They are each going to raise money from this. They each want to be seen as taking on the others. Certainly the squad wants to be
seen the tip of the Spear Fighting against President Trump. As we know, President Trump is at his best when he has an enemy. We saw that in 2016 against hillary clinton. I think in light of the democratic primary being such a mess, he needs someone to really be the face of the party. I think the squad and President Trump both want this fight. And i think thats going to happen in the long term. Your thoughts, michael . We dont just need to raise funds. We need to raise our voices. I think thats absolutely true. The fact is that people will use this, monetize it, codify it, and make money and hay out of it. The problem is, how do we get beyond all the material and monetary concerns and get down to the heart of the matter . The hub of the matter is this. You and i may disagree vigilantly and vigorously about an issue. It doesnt make me elect a nonamerican. This litmus test of patriotism determined by whether or not you fall within the circle of my appreciation for your ideas is hog wash. America at its best has always been about protest, fighting for
the right to fight for the right to do the right thing. And so mr. Trump, to me, is quite unpatriotic. And he is ignorant about the vast reach of American Identity and the beautiful way in which american ideologies have been resolved when americans are willing to put it all on the table, talk civilly with each other, and negotiate their differences. We have democrats tonight voting on that resolution to disapprove, you could say, of President Trumps comments. And i wonder whether democrats think that goes far enough. And how that is going to play out. Well, i think its going to be really interesting what we see from republicans today. We started seeing them come out yesterday. I know it wasnt a ton. But we will have more today. It shows at least 20 or so republicans now that have come out now concerned, denouncing the president s remarks. Many stopping short of calling him racist altogether. I think the Talking Point is will be what senator ted cruz just did. They are the foil, the democratic party, the four young women, congresswomen. They are the foil, and they will focus on that and not focus on what he did. To your point about democrats, though, for many democrats, particularly those on the left flank of the party, it does not go far enough. Senator Bernie Sanders of vermont running for the president ial nomination said this to robert acosta, it doesnt go far enough. The democrats need to focus on beating President Trump at the ballot box. This effort is not sufficient. That is something we will watch for all the president ial candidates. This will bleed into that race as well. Juan that and anita, stick around. Live on the hill, mike gorman, michael eric dyson. Thank you both for being with us. Thank you. We are staying in all of that live coverage on the hill. Were also checking on the
reality check. Many of those 2020 democrats. New fundraising numbers out overnight. Who is making the money and who is not. But first could we finally, finally have a confirmed pick for the Secretary Of Defense . That Nomination Hearing is happening right now live for the president s pentagon pick. Well take you there. President s pentagon pick. Well take you there jet and its awesome. Its an allinone so its ready to go when i am. The Cleaning Solution actually breaks down dirt and grime. And the pad absorbs it deep inside. So, it prevents streaks and haze better than my old mop. Plus, its safe to use on all my floors, even wood. Glad i got that off my chest and the day off my floor. Try wet jet with a moneyback guarantee
theyre wrong when they advocate policies that would eliminate all private health insurance, destroy medicare and force the American People to pay for Free Health Care for illegal immigrants. Theyre wrong when they pursue policies like the one were going to be voting on today that will destroy 4 million jobs for low wage earners by mandating a federal 15 minimum wage. That is not compassion. That is a callousness born of ignorance. Theyre wrong when they say their programs help people at the lower end of the economic spectrum. Every one of their socialist programs would create massive new Government Dependency and end the very Economic Growth we need to ensure everyone can prosper. Our colleagues are wrong when they advocate packing the Supreme Court and abolishing the electoral college. Congresswoman pressley did just
last week, any Individual Seat at the table is only valuable, only legitimate if that person espouses some preapproved set of beliefs deemed appropriate based on their religion or gender or their race. When they say that, that is racist. No. Our opposition to our colleaguess belief has nothing to do with race, gender or religion. We oppose them and their policies because their policies are dangerous and wrong and would destroy america. The issue here is the content of their policies. And we will continue to stand up and fight against what we know is wrong for this nation. And with that i would like to turn things over to congresswoman fox, republican leader of education and labor committee. Thank you very much. We are going to be voting today
on a very, very bad piece of legislation. So you have been watching Republican Leaders begin their weekly News Conference. That was liz cheney, the only woman in House Leadership chosen to speak first. She comes out on the statements relating to the policies of alexandria ocasiocortez, rashida ta lead, ilhan omar and ayanna pressley. It was interesting to hear their policies, the womens policies are whats racist. I think we will be hearing that all day today. Thats what the president has started to do. They have been put on the spot. Thats where republicans are telling each other where to go. Absolutely. They will be taking to paint them as representative of the democratic part at large and on capitol hill and the campaign trail. That will be their new messaging as we move into this new phase of the campaign. People are hoping the president will call them socialists. They would rather hear that than talking about their backgrounds and they need to go back to somewhere, this Racist Message we have heard. Kasie hunt, our colleague who covers capitol hill is sitting in the News Conference. At some point, once republicans finish talking about policies and other issues coming up today we expect leader mccarthy, a very close ally of President Trump to take some questions. Keep in mind, the Republican Leaders are headed to the white house later today. You know the president is watching. It will almost certainly come up this afternoon. Were keeping an eye on that. We are keeping an eye on what else is happening on capitol hill. The other side of the capitol. And you can see right here the man picked to lead the pentagon facing questions from senators at his confirmation hearing, a hearing months in the making after the longest stretch ever. There has been no Permanent Defense secretary. To find the last one you have to go back to jim mattis in december. Then acting Patrick Shanahan quit in june. Courtney kube following the developments from the pentagon. And jeffrey mccaffrey. There are those so frustrated it has taken so long to get a Defense Secretary in place. How do you see this Confirmation Process going for esper . People think he will slide through this confirmation. Its possible he will get voted, confirmed and sworn in this week. Then they can start working on the other more than a dozen open slots for political appointees, including espers number two. That he wants the deputy Secretary Of Defense. We could see a nominee on that as early as next week. So far this hearing has not had a whole lot of fireworks. We expect mark esper who is the
army secretary as he is awaiting confirmation, we expect him to get questions on things like tensions with iran. We expect him to get questions on personnel issues like the ongoing back and forth about whether transgender individuals can openly serve in the military. And we did have we have one interesting back and forth with him already where he defended the u. S. Military role along the border. Lets hear what he had to say. In many ways the operations that d. O. D. Is providing at the border in support of dhs is not unlike what we have done in the past in multiple administrations over many years. In many ways it is one of those things we do, whether putting out wildfires in california, helping with Hurricane Recovery in texas or puerto rico, flooding along the mississippi. Its one of those things we provide to other parts of the government and to the American People. So as you well know, hallie, this is a common refrain we have been hearing from political leaders. This is a common, and for
military leaders, this is a Common Mission for the u. S. Military to help out with domestic issues, including that along the border courtney kube, thanks. We are watching live this confirmation hearing. General, there are some 2020 democrats who sit on this committee. Notably elizabeth warren. Do you expect him to, as courtney said, slide through this Confirmation Process . Certainly. I hope so. We need a Secretary Of Defense. Theres absolute chaos in the pentagon with acting people in office. We have a continuing resolution and Defense Budget we are about to end up with. So the government is getting incohere incoherent. He is confirmed as secretary of the army. He has a ph. D. Masters out of harvard. Congressional staff. Combat officer in iraq. We ought to be grateful hes willing to step forward and serve. Because a lot of people with a republican background are not willing to join this administration. Is he the right person, in your view, to lead the pentagon right now . Yeah, i think so. You have a tremendous experience. He understands how the budget works. He has some political chops with congress which is important. The primary board of oversight for the defense department. I think he has credibility inside the pentagon. Right now we have acting Secretary Of Defense and acting september of defense and acting secretary of the navy. This is preposterous, in coherence in government. You mentioned the number of actings in this administration, something we talked about on this show. And remarkable week with pentagon leadership. There has to be all of these moving pieces in order to get mark esper into play. He has to go back to army secretary. You have his confirmation hearing. A vote to confirm him later in the week. Deputy Secretary Of Defense reverts back to the comptroller. Et cetera, et cetera. The dominoes keep falling. President trump, in the eyes of some of his advisers, has been slow to get across the finish line. Do you think thats fair criticism . Absolutely. This is ridiculous. A lot of these offices have gone months without any proposal, any nomination. The next secretary of the army undoubtedly will be mr. Mccarthy. He still has not been formally nominated to take that position. So, again, the pentagon is big business. You know, this is a trillion dollar business. We have work to do with congress. There are strategic threats to the United States, with iran, north korea, et cetera. We have to have some permanence to govern until the next election. I appreciate your perspective
on a very busy day on capitol hill. Back on The Other Side, the house side, we are keeping an eye on both republican and democratic leadership News Conferences. You can see on the left side of your screen, steve scalise. He has not yet spoken about the president s tweets. With when he does, we will bring it back to you live. On The Other Side, the democratic News Conference. We will be in this as it happens. We will bring it the second we get news. D we get news more, more, more how do you like it, how do you like it more, more, more how do you like it, how do you like it all you can eat is back. How do you like that . Applebees. Now thats eatin good in the neighborhood. But how do i know if im im getting a good deal . I tell truecar my zip and which car i want and truecar shows the range of prices people in my area actually paid for the same car so i know if im getting a great price. This is how car buying was always meant to be. This is truecar. Whoa. Travis in it made it. Its amazing. Oh is that traviss app . Its pretty cool, isnt it . Theres two of them. Theyre multiplying. No, guys, its me. See, im real. Im real he thinks hes real. Geico. Over 75 years of savings and service. Kevin mccarthy taking questions now and the president s remarks. We tried a number of different congresses. Last congress we tried. We brought two different bills to the floor. The real challenge was The Other Side of the aisle made sure no one voted for it. Ours believes there is a process in the house and the senate and an act to find compromise on both sides. Fortunately there is a belief on The Other Side of the aisle they wanted to keep the issue out there. Now, everybody wants to be able to protect somebody who has a challenge when it comes to the side. Individuals are coming from other countries passing one, two, three other countries and never claiming asylum. When you come here and claim asylum you get to be able to have your day in court. 80 of those do not hold up. There is other ways to deal with it. Obama administration, you could claim asylum in your home
country, the consulate itself. If your court case came forward, you could come to america. We want to make sure we protect those who truly need it. This is a system that created a loophole that actually puts it in doubt protecting those who need it in the time. And we should act. I watched the speaker ask the president to hold off on an action that the court has asked this country to take. He did. But Nothing Happened inside congress. The responsibility lies with us. I. C. E. And Border Patrol cant do Something Different than what the law says. They have to uphold the law. We should make sure we fix this problem because we do have a crisis. Yes . inaudible . No. And i do not think the speaker was racist when they claimed she was racist either. I do not believe that. I believe this is about
ideology. Socialism versus freedom. Its clear the debate is happening. I understand when i listen to their Press Conference yesterday they talked more about impeachment than anything else. Even one of those individuals this Wasnt The First Time they talked about impeachment. On the night of being sworn in, they brought all their supporters together and they spoke about impeachment in words that i will not use here. This is more from their base than about politics. It is unfortunate. We should get back to the business of america. inaudible . Sure. You said this is politics. Yes. It is. Mr. Scalise, you said this was one more chance to go after the president. Do you have a resolution on the floor today . I will vote against this resolution. inaudible . If you look at the resolution itself and you look at the rules of the house, you cant even name the resolution on the floor. If this is a case of what they are concerned most about, lets
go through every comment individuals who have made on The Other Side of the aisle, are we bringing a resolution up on the floor about their comments . No. When they question a persons faith, when they actually believe someone of the jewish faith could support america, or support israel. The questions and comments individuals have made and thats why this body should be better than this. The individuals that you continue to play politics with, lets solve the problems before us. This is the root of my question. There is a perception, whether its right or not, that the republican parties and members have not sufficiently rejected what the president said said. You said these comments are not racist . I think the president clarified that. Even if it is a situation, even if you dont believe it, is there a problem with the optics of the party that members will vote on your side of the aisle to support the president and what he says about i think this party has been very clear. We are the party of lincoln. This party believes in the content of the individual. Ive watched from our own actions. I have watched an individual in my own party do something that we disagreed with. We took action. Ive watched The Other Side of the aisle, though, when it came to questioning a persons faith, a persons loyalty, no action was taken. Ive watched what was written in a resolution using words that you cant even use on the floor. Ive watched the Press Conference that only talked about impeachment. Ive watched a chairman of the Judiciary Committee use a platform to win the chairmanship that he would be better to impeach. President. Long before the Mueller Report ever came through and said no collusion. Lets not be false about what is happening here today. This is all about politics and beliefs of ideologies of what individuals yesterday. Yes, sir. Do you think that there are decent chances of getting it
done . And if theres not a caps agreement, do you want to ask your members to vote for clean debt limit this month . I do think that we can get this done. And i would say to the speaker, if we are as close as i believe we are and we need a day or two longer, we should stay here and make sure we get it done. There is a real concern. That when the debt ceiling can hit, that it could hit Early September or maybe sooner. We should not leave for august without dealing with that. And i would say if we cant get this done, we should do ate 30day. I dont think thats ideal. I rather get a Cap Agreement and Debt Ceiling Agreement before we leave in july. And i think we are very close to making that happen. Last question. Do you agree that was weak, stupid and in effective. I think speaker ryan was a good speaker and great speaker. Speaker ryan is a very good friend of mine. Ive watched what he has been able to achieve. Ive watched what he has been able to achieve with this president. Tax reform that has not been done in 30 years. All the statistics i laid off and the economics was a team where it was built. Youre quoting something based upon a book that i have not read and i havent talked to speaker ryan. I know thats not the words he would use because i have been in rooms with him and the president. Two individuals worked very well together. I know someone can take language out. They talked about mr. Ryan talking about the president coming from business. Thats exactly what america needed. A president to come in and shake up washington. Speaker ryan was perfect in the job where he was at, the knowledge of what he had, and that combination together would make sure in this congress we got tax reform done. Because remember this article 1, section 7, tax reform doesnt start in the senate. It starts in the house. Without speaker ryan and President Trump it never would
have gone done. A question on socialism . You have been watching House Republican minority leader Kevin Mccarthy speak about the president s comments. Leader mccarthy said they are not racist. He does not think the remarks were racist. He defensed the president and said he is very close. He would vote against that resolution unsurprisingly brought to the floor tonight by House Speaker nancy pelosi and House Democrats disapproving of what the president had to say. And mccarthy made comments at the top about the new asylum restrictions. The bulk related to what the president had to say in the Jahna Summers and Anita Cue March with me. We are waiting to hear from kasie hunt. She is getting in front of the camera as we speak. Your reaction to what we just heard . First of all, it was pretty unpricing after watching the Press Conference yesterday and seeing the tweet they would go down the side they talked more
about impeachment. And going back to Rashida Tlaibs comments as well. Kelly odonnell, he is going to like what he heard from leader mccarthy who issued a defense of somebody who he talks with and visits with often. And will do so again today. And the timing had been some of the president s Chief Defenders were out of town based on the congressional schedule, arriving back late yesterday. And so this was one of the first oncamera opportunities to have a counter weight to the four congressman and their News Conference from the democratic side and all of the national discussion. This is Kevin MccarthySwinging The Bat in the sweet spot the president wanted. Perhaps they are the closest allies of the president and a member of congress would be mccarthy. They definitely have a connection. While there are others like Lindsey Graham, who suggested the president should aim higher,
not hearing that today. It was believed to be how Congress Reviews its own members of conduct. Like have they done enough to deal with some of the controversial voices and that kind of thing. That does not sit well on the democratic side. Republicans rallying around trying to shift the focus away from the president s words and tweets to the words behavior and positions, ideological positions, namely, the four congresswomen and the party more broadly, to make them the face of the Party Heading into an election season. For republicans that seems to be a strategy. They have had time to think about askand measure. Kevin mccarthy found a way to defend them. And to say he sticks with President Trump. Alley. Kasie hunt, let me go to you. You were in the room. One of the questions that you tried to get to leader mccarthy is whether the president should be doing better, whether you expect more from President Trump at this point, kasie. Reporter yeah. Hallie, he had said, you know, he expected better of everyone else that he was talking about in this case the squad, which he branded socialists. You know, the question of course that i was able to ask is whether or not he believes the tweets were racist. And he said very clearly no, he does not believe that. But, again, you know, when youre talking about the president of the United States, it seems fair to ask do we expect better of our leaders . That doesnt seem to be something he necessarily wanted to address. Hal i there, it was interesting they had liz cheney, the only member member of the gop leadership and, frankly, one of the few elected republicans in the House Of Representatives who is a woman, come out and be the
face initially of talking about this. Of saying, you know, their defense, cheney said, was that, look, we dont oppose these people based on any of these factors were talking about here. She said its not about race, religion, gender. Its about all of these policy things. But really this is about trying to turn it around, cast it as political, talk instead about these four and elevate them really. And that is in many ways, you know, a political strategy that we have been talking about throughout the hour. Kasie hunt, great work from you on capitol hill. Kelly, thank you. I want to welcome the democrat from massachusetts. Congressman, thank you for being with us on a busy hour of news. Good to be here, hallie. Let me get your reaction from congressman jeffrey, speaking moments ago. He said that the house is voting to condemn what he describes as
the racist comments rather than censure. Do you agree that is the right move or do you wish this resolution today went further . Look, i think the responsibility we have in the House Of Representatives is simply to follow our constitutional duty to begin Impeachment Proceedings of the president. It is very simple. When the president breaks the law, the house should conduct impeachment hearings. Thats why i voted for this way back in December Of 2017 before any other president ial candidate in this race. Thats our constitutional duty. Now, leadership has made a very clear case for why they think the politics arent on our side, why the polling is divisive. You know what, how about just doing the right thing . I swore an oath and protect and defend the constitution of the United States not the politics of the democratic party. And the right thing now is to have this open debate for the American People. I want to followup on that. Let me get you on the record
here. Will you vote for this resolution today . Absolutely i will. The president is a racist. If you havent figured that out yet, i dont know what to tell you. I started saying that a long time ago and got heat when i first came out and said that against the president. It is abundantly clear now. Republicans are jumping through hoops to say he is not. He said this is about politics. Thats what they said about Martin Luther king in the 1960s. This isnt playing politics. This is calling out a president who is a racist and is just you know, i talked to a voter on the way over here and she said you just dont talk to people that way. And i think americans know that. These Republican Leaders should wake up to that as well. You make clear your message to The Other Side of the aisle. Let me ask about your message to this side of the aisle. Our new poll shows, to tell you, that support for impeachment is dropping down six points since
june when we last asked that question. Do you believe that this moment, the moment that we are in right now, changes the game for people like you who do believe that the house should move forward with an Impeachment Inquiry . No. The people who will decide are colleagues in the house. No one is moving no colleagues are saying now that i learned more, now that i read the Mueller Report im against impeachment. It is quite the opposite. People are saying we have a constitutional duty to do this. The most important thing i said was, i dont care about the polls. I dont care about the politics i care about doing the right thing about the constitution of the United States. Thats our duty as members of congress. And our duty now, as mueller made clear in his report, to have this debate before congress and the American People. By the way, the polls were far worse when democrats in congress, together with some republicans, started impeachment Heart Attacks of richard nixon. Only 30 of the country thought that was the right thing to do. But once the case was made, once more of these facts came to before the American People, increasing number of voters sided with the house and said, yes, nixon should be impeached. Trump has done far worse, and that is what will happen if we find the courage to do the right thing and have these hearings. Before i let you going, go i have to talk about 2020 money race. Second quarter fundraising numbers came out overnight showing i believe your campaign in 2020 will raise 1. 2, 1. 3 million. You did not crack the top 10. I dont have to tell you that with your fundraising. How long do you think you can sustain staying in the race . Ill tell you what, i was just in iowa this weekend. Ive had a great reception. Voters came up and talked about my ambitious Mental Health care proposal, climate change, national service, racial in equality and what were going to
do about that in america. I didnt get a single question about fundraising. I get that. But you know you need money to be able to put out and im doing just fine. Im proudly in this race. The point is this is not what matters to voters on the ground. And theyre the ones who are ultimately going to make the choice about who the best nominee is to take on trump u. And i wouldnt be in the race if i didnt think i was that person. No better foil for boeing if ulle against trump than a young combat veteran who represents new generation of leadership in our party. Appreciate to you being on the show and reacting to a stories happening this hour. Were talking with one reporter and author who said the Republican Party was ready and waiting to be hijacked by the president. He seemed to have just been called Out By Mccarthy. Seemed called Out By Mccarthy i dont keep track of regrets. And i dont add up the years. But what i do count on. Is boost® delicious boost® high protein nutritional drink
has 20 grams of protein, along with 26 Essential Vitamins and minerals. Boost® high protein. Be up for life. Your Daily Dashboard from fidelity. A visual snapshot of your investments. Key portfolio events. All in one place. Because when its decision time. You need decision tech. Only from fidelity. Earlier this hour, just a couple minutes ago, we heard from Republican Leadership. Its not the first time the member of the president s party, as you heard, defended the
president. After he said or did something that was found offensive. Whats behind the republican response . Politicos tim alberta tackles that question in his new book American Carnage which looks at the rise of President Trump and how deeply the president has changed the Republican Party. Quote, president s of the United States come and go. Most of transitional. As horns have long oob served, only a select few are transformational. To durably alter the American Identity, donald trump with would have to do more than Bend Conservatism at his will, we would have to redefine the Republican Party. Tim alwerta joiberta joins us n. His book is out today. Tim, thank you for choosing us on your big debut day. Its quite a day to be here, my friend, because i want you to connect dots between what were seeing at this moment inside the Republican Party and their
response to the president and what he had to say to the squad and sort of where the party has been over the last three 0 four years as youve been reporting out. Well, first, thanks for having me, nobody id rather be with and i wish i was there with you in person. But this is the second best thing. What weve seen over the last 72 hours with donald trump and the squad and the republican response or lack thereof in most cases is pretty much perfectly representative of Donald Trumps takeover of the Republican Party. Which is to say that trump smelled weakness. Trump smelled blood in the water. When trump entered the 2016 republican nominating contest, he took a lock around aok aroun these guys air bunch of patsies. The one person in the race who trump sort of feared or respected was ted cruz, because at least ted cruz like Trump Wasnt Afraid to go after the party establishment. Donald trump a long time identified that the Political Class had at tra fied, that it was weak. That the institutions of government but certainly the institutions of political
parties themselves were weak and vulnerable to anout side insurgency. We saw that in 2010 with the Tea Party Wave and it began to build and build. Trump came along at the perfect time and exploited a lot of cultural unrest and socioeconomic dislocation in the country and all of this political tush bu lance. When trump was able to conkurt Republican Party, he did that in no small part due to the base being fact that he is fearless. He is strong, hes assertive. He is relentlessly on the attack. And most Republican Office holders, hallie, they are the opposite. Theyre confrontation aversion. They are not locking to tangle with donald trump. He this are looking to selfprers vation. When it comes to instances like this. When the president sthaends tweet, most Republican Office holders see absolutely no upside in nao coming out or rebuking him for it or denouncing
themselves from it. Because they know its about a binary choice. Its not about Tea Party Establishment its about are you with donald trump or are you against donald trump . If the assistance that youre against donald trump, then you are taking your career in your own hands. You make the point as well on, and i know youve been making it this week, that people who think the rise of trumpism came Out Of Nowhere have not been paying attention. Theres an anecdote in your book where your talk about michael steele, the former chairman and how the end of his speeches were scripted jokes about birtherism. Saying no way do you not understand where a black man goes out and make fun of where another black man was born, not going to happen that. Was in the either years ago. This is why its so important for us to understand how this book is not meant to hold up a mirror to donald trump or even just to the Republican Party. Its meant to hold up a mirror to all of us and to a political culture that produced donald
trump. As much as we want to lay all of this disunity and this disruption and polarization, as much as we want to lay it as trumps doorstep, its a huge mistake. Hes going to come and go. Presidency is a Transient Office and he will not be the president forever but these forces will still be there. I think we all need to begin to reckon with how we Pick Up The Pieces and where we go from here in terms of restoring some of these basic and really fundamentally foundationally important institutions that keep government operative and frankly this is not a republicandemocrat issue. They have gone off the rails and there are some deeper seed societal issues that have to be addressed because donald trump did not simply win donald trump did not simply win by conquering the Republican Party, he won by Exploiting This Deep Cultural Unleft that had been boiling in the country long
before he came along. Very quickly i have to get your response about what mccarthy said at a Press Conference about paul ryan arizona remarks. Speaker ryan worked very hard. I think he was a good speaker and he was a great speaker. Speaker ryan is a very good friend of mine. Ive watched what hes been able to achieve. Ive watched what hes been able to achieve with this president. Tax reform that has not been done in 30 years. All of those statistics as i laid off for you and the economic of where it was was a them that was built. Ive watched what youre quoting something based on a book that i have not read and i havent talked to speaker ryan, i know thats not the words of what he would use because ive been in rooms with him and with the president. You want to correct the record here, tim . Yeah, its on tape if he wants to hear it. Ill give ill give leader mccarthy the benefit of the doubt because as seif een on any number of occasions hes not a master of the english lang wake so maybe thats not what he meant to say but i have it on
tape. Tim, American Carn Nang out today. I appreciate you coming on the show. Thank you. We have breaking news out of new york after the Justice Department, federal prosecutors say they will not file civil rights charges related to the 2014 death of eric gardner. We are just getting new reporting on how this decision came down and from where this decision came what can you tell us . Reporter it ultimately came down from attorney general bill barr, william barr, and just for context, remember, hallie, it is the i cant breathe case. Yes, eric garners family claims and you hear it on videotape, i cant breathe 11 times hes was being taken down by Police Officers in Stat Sten Island five years ago. They say the officer used a chokehold causing his death by choking him which is an illegal move in the law regarding the nypd here. Now, this has been going on for
some time, five years. But, again, the Justice Department is essentially saying that they cannot prove that the officers willful a and intentionally used this illegal hold to essentially take eric garners life. They say it was a dynamic situation. A lot of things were happening and during that time the officer did not willfully try to kill eric garner. Now, the family, the activists, refer rand al sharpton take a different view of this. They jet held a Press Conference and they were adamant that the officer should be fierred immediately and even though this has been going on for five years. This is a big day but theres one more hearing going on. Administrative nypd thaerg could result in the officers termination but a lot of people doubt thats going to happen as well. Hallie. Ron allen with that developing news from new york. Thank you very much. Let me bring in the assistant speaker of the house, ben. Congressman, thanks for being back on the show. Boy, do we have a lot to talk about and id like to start about with what ron allen just laid out. I know this is developing quickly, but its attorney general bill barr who made the decision not to bring charges against the officer in the death of eric garner based on the recommendation of the u. S. Attorneys office in brooklyn. Do you believe overall the department of justice made the right decision here . Look, ive had the chance to hear with my colleagues from the garner family. I think everyone remembers this case. Yeah. And the video as it shocked the country. A young man who was saying he Couldnt Breathe while he was being held and, again, theres still another hearing here and i appreciate where the family is, that this isnt over yet. And i dont agree with the position of the Department Of Justice And Attorney General barr on this case. Congressman, i appreciate that. Let me turn now to another topic. I know you just ran to the
camera from us from that Datt DemocraticNews Conference. One of the subjects was the president s tweet attack the squad. Your response to mccarthy saying he doesnt think President Trumps tweet was racist. Look, i dont know whats so hard about calling a racist tweet racist. Telling people to go back where they come from, the next thing thats followed by that is youre not welcome. Thats exactly what the president was saying. And i heard about this as i was actually on the air on another show on Sunday Morning and i guess i shouldnt be shocked any longer. But i dont know what is so hard for my colleagues to understand what is so bad about this. What is so wrong about this. And, again, calling a racist tweet and racist language racist. Congressman, we are unfortunately just about out of show. I hope you come back