Coverage of national and international news, including breaking stories. Carrying a recently deported mother and daughter turned around. This, as the government finally files a plan to reunite the 360 migrant kids still separated from their parents after missing last nights deadline. And galaxy quest. What started as a line at a rally could now be coming a reality. I said maybe we need a new force, well call it the space force. And i was not really serious. The administration now asking for 8 billion im going to say that again, 8 billion bucks over the next five years to launch the first new branch of the military since 1947. Whats the goal . It is not enough to merely have an american presence in space. We must have american dominance in space. Oh, my goodness. Players sat out the anthem during last nights game. While others, like Malcolm Jenkin of the super bowl champion eagles, he raised a fist. Kenny stills and Albert Wilson of the miami dolphins, they took a knee. We dont expect any of the nfl players to face any repercussions since the leagues Enforcement Of Anthem Policy was suspended. On thursday, the nfl reiterated its stance that it expects every player on the field to stand during the anthem. The protests on the field over systemic oppression pushed forward. White supremacists, did you hear what i said, White Supremacists and members of the alt right will descend on washington for Unite The Right sequel this weekend. Security will be very tight. And a State Of Emergency has been declared for virginia on the oneyear anniversary of the deadly charlottesville rally. Joining me now to discuss, mark thompson, the host of sirius xms progressive radio. Phil rucker, msnbc political
analyst. Matt walsh, reason magazine. And tim obrien, msnbc contributor. Mark, i must go to you first. Last night, the man who started the protest, Colin Kaepernick, tweeted this, my brother continued his protest of systemic oppression tonight by taking a knee. Albert wilson joined him in protest. Stay strong, brothers. Walk us through this, mark. What message does this send . And we need to remind our viewers. This morning, we were going to be leading the top story was going to be about immigration, the abomination and the fallout of the disaster that was President Trumps Zero Tolerance policy. Probably number two story would have been space force. Which we cannot find anyone in the Republican Party or the military to back. Maybe number three would be Paul Manafort, roger stone, the Manhattan Madam. All of those stories, you know who doesnt like them, the president of the United States. And a white supremacist. Thats all there is to it. And he needs to understand. These players are not going to fear him more then the game they play. Players risk their lives and risk brain injury. He sounds like hes somebodys master. Telling players what they should and shouldnt be doing. And even saying they cant define what it is theyre talking about. These players know very well what theyre talking about. They know but for the grace of god, they could have been a Michael Brown or a Trayvon Martin or sandra bland or the Brother Mar Quis who was just killed visavis stand your ground, florida. Im proud of these players. Donald trump is trying to bring back an era in america that we thought we had gotten rid of. But obviously, he wants to keep
alive. Just one more thing, if i could, stephanie. Please. You know, we were talking this weekend at the conference. You know these are labors many people here are from labor unions. They work alongside their white brethren. Dr. King talked about from the steps of montgomery state capitol, about the evolution or the origin, the genesis, of jim crow and how theres really not a lot of difference between Working Class whites and Working Class africanamericans and all other people of color. But people like donald trump, as they did in the 60s, he talked about how they would try to draw division between the two. Because less we all come together, what if all of us, Black And White and brown and red, of course were in arizona, what if we all came together and realized were all human beings, we all want to take care of our families, we all want to care for one another. What if we did that, the power that would have . Hes trying to keep the last
our opposite. Whites should stand up for africanamerican. Citizens. Rich for poor. Straight for gay. Men for the rights of women. If we all did this, that would be a better america. Fight back against trump. These tweets hes sending out, everybody ought to do those things this very weekend. Care about someone. Learn about another culture. Learn about other people you didnt know about before. And learn to love them. Multiculturalism is america. What Heather Heyer stood for is what america is about. I want to show what President Trump has said in the past about those who refuse to stand for the anthem. Total disrespect of our heritage. A total disrespect of everything we stand for. Everything that we stand for. Matt, when Colin Kaepernick first started this, he actually went to a veteran who said a respectful way to show a sign of protest would be to take a knee. Whats you do when youre at the grave of a fallen soldier. So why is it that the president has successfully hijacked this peaceful demonstration and turned it into yet another point in this culture war hes created . Because he loves culture wars. His whole Political Coalition is based on a sense of grievance that theres a that there is a cultural elite that is sneering at real american values. And the nfl has, since the days of pete rosele back in the late 60s has traded on this hyper patriotism. They standed during the National Anthem very consciously then as a way of saying were not like the vietnam protesters. Theyve been cashing in on this a long time for themselves. Donald trump can say, hey, look, you speak are sneering down. Everybody knows old uncle joe at the bar who loves to shout at the tv, what those rich millionaire athletes are doing. Theres some ugly aspects to that kind of vibe. And donald trump is the classic old man at the bar shouting at the tv and has recognized there is a Political Coalition behind that. It is a shrinking Political Coalition in my view. But its very effective in the moment with his base. This is what he likes to do. Lets keep this in mind. When he does this, hes going to cause more protests. Because americans, thank god, Dont Like Being told what they can and cant do. Hes saying this thing that he supposedly doesnt like by talking about it, hes going to get more of it. He wants more of it. He doesnt want less of it. While it might be your crazy uncle joe at the bar, no, hes drinking a diet coke there. Because its a twoprong war. Hes created this cultural war, pointing the finger at these
cattle r cultural elites. His policies are hooking up the elites. Theres no one benefits from his policies more than Corporate America and the wealthiest. When does one wake up to this strategy . I think its obviously that. In the 1970s, were discriminating against people of color. Trump, in 1989, took out a fullpage ad condemning the central five assailants, central park five assailants. He waded in the middle of a very
contentious, racially charged event. Because in his own heart, trump has has embraced his racism himself. Hes not unable to condemn charlottesville because he doesnt know what to do. Hes not jumping into the nfl because he says only because hes playing into his base. Because trump himself is very problematic around race. Hes never disavowed david duke. Remember during the Trump University dispute, he went after the mexican heritage of judge curial at the drop of a hat. Donald trump is the embodiment of a long tradition of racial hatred in this country that hes actually legitimized. The danger of this moment right now is people are focusing on the narrow aspects of this, without really recognizing hes made it okay for people like i think Laura Ingraham to go on the air and spout racist theories. So you are in washington and this weekend the unite the
right, that protest is taking place. Juxtapose that with what these nfl players are doing and give us a snapshot of where the country is right now. Because, to marks point earlier, the majority of people in america, regardless of the race or heritage, just want to live a good life. This is not what theyre focused on. There is going to be this white supremacist, White Nationalist rally here in washington, right by the white house behind me. Its important to point out President Trump, you know, the bully pulpit. Hes gone on and on about nfl players, trying to dictate how professional athletes should behave, and he said not a word about this White Supremacist Demonstration thats going taking place in his own backyard this weekend. Hes also said really nothing since charlottes individual. Nothing to mark the oneyear anniversary. Hes had no president ial leadership about that moment that divided the country. It was probably, culturally
speaking, the low point of his presidency and hes trying to brush it under the rug and forget it ever happened. But this rally has the potential this weekend to be very ugly and very destructive and bring out sort of the worst in america and it will be really a test of president ial leadership to see how donald trump responds and how he handles the moment. Its a moment for the best of america to say no more of this. I do want to go back to lebron james for just a moment and share what he said to don lemon last week. Because remember, that interview took place after lebron james was announcing the school he is fully funding and then the president took to twitter this weekend to discuss how stupid lebron and don lemon were. Heres what he said. What i noticed over the last few months, that hes kind of used sport to kind of divide us, and thats something that i cant relate to because i know that sport was the first time i ever was around someone white. You know, and i got an
opportunity to see them and learn about them and they got an opportunity to learn about me and we became very good friends. And i was like, oh, wow, this is all because of sports. Sports has never been something that divides people. Its always something that brings people together. Lebron james is right, sport is something that does bring us together. Mark. Well, again, i think its timing. Football season is coming to a start. And we are approaching were less than 90 days from the midterm. Plus, hes got a chip on his shoulder about the nfl. He wanted to be an nfl owner. The usfl was a failed league that he was involved in. So we know that chip is there. And thats his insecurity. His ego. Hes trying to be macho. Hes a very, very small man. I think thats what its all about. Again, i would encourage all of us. This is no time to be on the fence. Its no time to be fooled. Dr. King said when those who have wrinkled stomachs and didnt have enough money to fill those stomachs, they ate jim crow. A psychological bird that told them at least they were better off than the black man, those who were white. Donald trump is exploiting that same principle. Hes exploiting a resentment in america that actually comes to your point, stephanie, that actually comes from him rewarding the Corporate America and rewarding the rich. Africanamericans are not the enemy. It is the people like donald trump who line their own pockets. Give themselves their own tax cuts and tax care of themselves. They are the enemy. He is the enemy. Not people of color. Not immigrants. Not africanamericans. Not women. None of that. This is Donald Trumps own doing. Hes perpetuating that. We need to isolate that and not
tear around each other. President trump likes to see these athletes have the privilege of making millions. We need to remind our audience, its a free market system. Those athletes are paid what the team owners choose to pay them. They get paid exactly what the market bears. Thats how it works. And we want to bring up Laura Ingraham again. Remember, she was the one who famously told lebron james to shut up and dribble. Im sure the kids of akron, ohio, who have the opportunity to go to his school, receive his college scholarships, are blessed and grateful he doesnt shut up and dribble. What started two nights ago is when Laura Ingraham was speaking on her show and she was talking about where the country is headed. She said, in some parts of the country, it does not seem like the america we know and love. Doesnt exist anymore. Massive demographic changes have been foisted on the American People and they are changes that none of us ever voted for. Most of us dont like. From virginia to california, we
see stark examples of how radically in some ways the country has changed. Now, much of this is related to both illegal and, in some cases, Legal Immigration that of course progressives love. 24 hours passed. Laura ingraham has plenty of time to clarify that. On live tv, we make mistakes. But she waited a full 24 hours. She said what she was talking about was defending law and order. It was about open borders. I urge you to watch what she said again because she said Legal Immigration. If its about Legal Immigration, thats about being a White Nationalist. A racive ivracist. Its not about law and order. What is going on here . That is a long standing conservative point, talking about the changes according thats not Ronald Reagan of course its not. Thats not george bush. Go back and watch Ronald Reagan against george h. W. Bush
against the televised primary they had, talking about ilLegal Immigration. One said this is not a criminality issue. This is a grow thing thats been happening in the Conservative Movement for a long time. 1965 immigration act changed the calculus of whos coming into the country. Disproportionately bringing people from asia and latin america. Those people dont have the exact same values we have and are change things. This has been talked about more and more and more in conservativism. Laura ingraham, other people too. Steven miller is in the white house, based hes been marinating in that and creating policies based on that insight hold on, then the party of lincoln, full rucker, those who are in washington, d. C. , career republicans, gop leadership, is fine and dandy with the voices of their party now being steven miller, anne coulter and laura
ingraham . Well, this is Donald TrumpsRepublican Party. So that is the voice of this party. Thats exactly what President Trump campaigned on. Thats what a lot of people read into make America Great again. A lot of the elected officials here are pretty uncomfortable with that grievance, with the views, with the rhetoric. Theyre suppressing their feelings in service to the trump agenda. They feel like getting a tax cut is more important than speaking their conscience and their mind and values. Thats why you see so many republicans in congress, starting with House Speaker paul ryan and majority leader mitch mcconnell, you know, quiet themselves, not speak out when they feel like something the president s done has crossed the line. When they tell us or when a ceo says focus on the policy, dont focus on the tweets. Words matter. The economy might be good but before you can thrive, you have
to feel respected and you have to respect others. I firmly believe that is what our nation is built on. I certainly hope more of our leaders will stand up and talk about that and do something about it. Thank you all so much. We have a lot more to cover. Up next, the prosecution in the Paul Manafort trial. Thats something trump doesnt want us to talk about. This is 24 hour news, we got time. A day after the judge apologized to them over his actions. Were going to go live to the courthouse for the latest. First, you got to see this clip. You just finished talking about President Trump and race relations. One of his most ardent africanamerican supporters kanye west was on last night. Kimmel drew a comparison to another president. You so famously and so powerfully said george bush doesnt care about black people. Makes me wonder what makes you think that donald trump does or any people at all. Why dont with take a break, well come back. But Allstate Agents know thats where the similarity stops. If youre on park street in reno, nevada, the high winds of the Washoe Zephyr could damage your siding. And thats very different than living on park ave in sheboygan, wisconsin, where ice dams could cause water damage. But No Matter What park you live on, one of 10,000 local Allstate Agents knows yours. Now that you know the truth, are you in good hands . Counsel for counsels allowing a witness, mr. Welch, to remain in the courtroom. Youre to put that aside. I may, and i was probably wrong in that. The judge told the prosecution at the beginning of the trial that the Expert WitnessMichael Welch could remain in the courtroom days before his own testimony. Nbcs National Security and justice reporter Julia Ainsley joins me now. All right, julia, whats on the menu today . So, today, stephanie, the prosecution is going to call four witnesses. They expect those to be their final four. Well see if they get through them all today. Two of those witnesses have been given immunity. Meaning they probably committed charges that could be criminally prosecuted. Theyve been given immunity in exchange for their cooperation. They are interesting because of who they worked for. This is James Brennan and dennis riko. They gave a 16 million loan to Paul Manafort and their boss at the time was steven call k. His name might be familiar because democrats in the house
have been looking into whether or not Paul Manafort was trying to exchange a quid pro quo for that loan in exchange for making calk secretary of the army. So looking into that loan, and the potential quid pro quo. We just heard a little bit about that earlier in the week. Its been a dangling thing we havent got a lot of answers to yet. I think the jury will want to hear more about that. As we move forward and tie up loose ends on the financial crimes of Paul Manafort. Youve gotten your work cut out for you today. A former u. S. Attorney who has appeared before judge ellis in the past. Chuck, we talked about this earlier in the week. But things have gotten more heated between the judge and the prosecution. So much so that he had to apologize for what he has said. Whats your take on all this . Deeply unfortunate, stephanie. Look, theres a middle path here. When youre in trial, youre stressed, i youre tired, people make mistakes. But if a judge is concerned
about something that counsel has done, she can call him up to the bench and ask him privately out of the ear shot of the jury what are you thinking, why didnt you follow my instructions. Oth or explain to me. It doesnt have to be in front of the jury. Thats the problem with judge ellis. It always tends to be sort of off the cuff, in front of the jury. The jury listens to this and they think the judge may have picked a side. Do you think these facts could be affecting the prosecution or the jury . Do i worry about that . Remember, its not just defendants whos entitled to a fair trial. Of course he is. But so is the government. S both sides are entitled to a fair trial. For the jurors, perhaps its the first time theyve been in a courtroom, ever served on a jury. Theyre picking up clues and signals from the judge. If he seems unhappy with one side, perhaps they think they should be too. You think this will affect the jurors . No, i think it could affect the jurors. In the end, i think this is a case where the government has put on lots and lots of compelling evidence. Theyve corroborated mr. Gates, the main cooperator. Theres documents that really demonstrate the fraud. I think in the end the government is going to be fine. This is what i worry about when the judge berates counsel, either side, in front of a jury. Whats your biggest takeaway so far . I think its going well for the government. As i said just a moment ago, its a compelling case. Its a document case. The documents cooperate mr. Gates, the main cooperator. It seems to me that the governments going to be fine. Now, remember, the government needs 12 unanimous jury to convict. A defendant needs a 12 unanimous jury to acquit. Its always possible the defense will appeal to one juror, that theres a holdout that could result in a mistrial. But i expect convictions in this case. Well, well soon find out, wont we, chuck . Thank you so much. I appreciate it. Now we have to take a turn to the battle over immigration. Late thursday, a federal judge blasting the Trump Administration for deporting a mother and child who are plaintiffs in a key lawsuit on asylum restrictions. The judge ordering the plane carrying the two back to el salvador to turn around and return to the United States. While threatening to hold top Government Officials in contempt of court. See, thats the story the president didnt want us talking about today. Remember, it is Zero Tolerance policy that caused all of this. The lawsuit was brought on. It challenges Attorney GeneralJeff Sessions decision to exclude domestic and Gang Violence as reasons for immigrants to be granted asylum. Msnbcs Jacob Zoberoff has been following this story from the beginning. What happened in this case . Someone blew it basically in the government and decided to deport this woman, carmen, is her pseudonym being used, and her daughter back to el salvador
in the middle of this case challenging Jeff Sessions restrictive rules seeking asylum. Restrict the claims you could make about domestic violence, Sexual Violence and assaults by gangs. Historically, one of the main drivers of people from countries like this. They send her back to el salvador in the middle of this trial. The judge was apo plektic. Its hard to say anything but that. He ordered the plane turned around in the middle of the air. The plane landed in el salvador. The folks stayed on the plane and came back to texas. The case will continue in washington, d. C. Today. All right, the government came out with new numbers yesterday. Give us the latest. How many children are still separated from their parents . And we have to remind our audience, this wasnt just President Trumps Zero Tolerance policy. His own hhs, members of the hhs told this administration, this will be damaging. Do not do this. The effects, horrible. And they went ahead with it. Let me just clarify what was on the screen. Theres actually 559 kids. Its been two months, by the way, since i went inside the shelter and saw all those boys separated from their parents. Two months after that, still 559, remain separated, and 365 kids have parents who have already been deported. This is the latest as of yesterday. So they say all these kids came unaccompanied. Thats not the case, correct . No, absolutely not. As a matter of fact, again, 2,551 systemically were separated from their parents at the border. We were with them saying all along, by the way, that the majority of kids in the custody of hhs were Unaccompanied Minors that came here by themselves. It has nothing to do with the fact that the trump
administration separated over 2,500 kids from their parents and over 500 of them remain separated to this day. The government, just since last night, late, by the way, submitted a plan to unify those remaining. Especially the 365 who have parents who have already been deported. Those 365 parent, even if they were erroneously deported, as many allege they were, are not coming back to the u. S. The kids are going to be sent home to their home countries. What a juxtaposition. Especially when you think about the fact that yesterday melania trumps parents became citizens. Chain migration. That is what the president has railed against over and over against the Chain Migration system. The system, familybased immigration system, that melanias parents were able to use and become citizens of the United States of america. Think about that. Jacob, thank you so much. All right, now we got to turn, Kristin Davis, better known as the Manhattan Madam, thats one title i am not
looking for, is set to appear before the special counsels grand jury. The former upscale prosta tugs ring manager. Even that is sort of ironic. Has close ties to political operative roger stone. The testimony underscores how wide spread the Mueller Investigation has become. In a statement to nbc this morning, stone defended davis, writing, Kristin Davis has been a friend and has worked on and off for me. She is a brilliant business woman who paid her debt to society and has remade her life. At the instruction of my attorneys, i have not discussed her testimony with her. Im certain she will testify truthfully. Nbcs Anna Schecter covering this side of the the story joins me now. Who is this Manhattan Madam and how does she tie into the muller investigation . She is extremely close with roger stone. He is the godfather to her son. Shes also worked with him on and off since 2010. What does work with him mean . A career as a madam . What does great question. Sec ra sec ra tarl work. A very close associate. She says she was pregnant and about to give birth august, september, october, The Key Hot Point in the Mueller Investigation, and that she doesnt know anything about russia collusion. However, she was his secretary shes saying pregnancy brain, i cant remember, i was super pregnant . She says at the time she wasnt doing that secretaryial work. But she did previously so she knows his close aides, she knows his calendar. So walk us through this. She is appears before a grand jury. She had an informal interview with the mueller team. What does this mean . This is moving extremely quickly. She was called just two weeks ago. Her lawyer got a call from muellers team. She is out in california. She flew back immediately. She rushed her in to meet with a
member of muellers team last week. Then rushed to have her testify before a grand jury less than a week later. Theres a lot of energy right now around this grand jury. So she is one of at least five close aides. Thats people who worked for stone in sort of assistant capacity, rather, his driver, other assistants. Shes one of at least five who have been called by muellers office. Youve also Got Another Roger Story Associate whos subpoenaed by mueller. This guy has tied to julian assange, wikileaks. Right, this is the person who roger stone asked he says he asked him to get him in touch with julian assange. Who is he . Hes a public persona. He calls himself a journalist. Randy credico, thats his name . Thats right. What could come of this . Well, were seeing Robert Mueller closing in on roger
stone it seems. Thats six people in stones inner circle. It looks like theyre moving in on roger stone. Moving in on roger stone. Gosh, so much going on. Up next, russias currency. The ruble crashes after the announcement of new u. S. Sanctions. President trump authorizes the doubling of some tariffs against turkey. Later, Vice President pens announces a new branch of the military. The space force. Monica lewinsky said it on twitter, every time i hear space force, i hear alf. Stephen colbert heard that announcement and it reminded him of another Out Of This World speech. Being calleded to something were already doing. Yes. Since the 1960s in fact. The speech reminds me of jfks immortal words. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things. Not because theyre easy but to
distract from Robert Muellers witch hunt. Alice is living with metastatic Breast Cancer, which is Breast Cancer that has spread to other parts of her body. Shes also taking Prescription Ibrance with an aromatase inhibitor, which is for postmenopausal women with hormone receptorpositive her2 metastatic Breast Cancer as the first hormonal based therapy. Ibrance plus letrozole was significantly more effective at delaying disease progression versus letrozole. Patients Taking Ibrance can develop low white blood cell counts, which may cause serious infections that can lead to death. Before Taking Ibrance, tell your doctor if you have fever, chills, or other signs of infection, liver or kidney problems, are pregnant, breastfeeding, or plan to become pregnant. Common side effects include low red blood cell and low platelet counts, infections, tiredness, nausea, sore mouth, abnormalities in liver blood tests, diarrhea, Hair Thinning or loss, vomiting, rash, and loss of appetite. Alice calls it her new normal because a lot has changed,
but a lot hasnt. Ask your doctor about ibrance. The 1 prescribed fdaapproved oral Combination Treatment for hr her2 mbc. Its a revolution in sleep. The new sleep number 360 smart bed, from 999, intelligently senses your movement and automatically adjusts. So you wake up ready to train for that marathon. And now, save up to 500 on select sleep number 360 smart beds. Ends wednesday. With a 500,000 Life Insurance policy. How much do you think it cost him . 100 a month . 75 . 50 . Actually, duncan got his 500,000 for under 28 a month. Less than a dollar a day. His secret . Selectquote. In just minutes, a selectquote agent will comparison shop nearly a dozen highlyrated Life Insurance companies, and give you a choice of your five best rates. Duncans Wife Cassie Got A 750,000 policy for under 22 a month. Give your family the security it needs at a price you can afford. Joining me now, cnbcs Senior Economics reporter Steve Liesman and executive ed aitor of bloomberg opinion. This dip is round one. Russia could be facing more sanctions. What reaction could we expect from the russian economy if they face round two . We have to remember, while putin is a scary guy, while they have a tremendous amount of nuclear power, their economy is piddlely, is nothing compared to the United States. Yes, its a very small economy. And very subject, by the way, to influence from the outside. Because they have pretty strong imports. One thing theyve done over time is reduced their foreign debt. So a little bit less exposure in that regard but still quite a bit of it. I think the russian economy is quite vulnerable when it comes to u. S. Sanctions. You know, the question becomes for all of the things that donald trump is doing. Does the does the end sort of justify the means, given what he wants out of russia. Is the kind of instability thats potentially being created
here and in turkey, are those things that might come back ultimately and ricochet against the u. S. In terms of Global Financial instability . This is not the first time weve seen the ruble crumble under u. S. Sanctions. In 2014, after the annexation of crimea, european sanctions caused this. Could we be escalating to that same level . Remember, though, russia sort of muddleled through those years present pretty well. The real damage in 2014 was falling oil prices, not u. S. Sanctions. Recently it appears russia sold off most of its u. S. Treasury holdings and theyve been buying gold. I think they have over 450 billion now in u. S. Currency reserve. Theyve clearly been preparing themselves for pain. They cant weather pain indefinitely. But i doubt how long this will last. I dont think these sanctions right now, these were kicked in because there were legal remedies Ness Seremedy S necessitated because russia used chemical agents in a
military way when they attacked this guy in the uk. Its the State Department that led this action. And i dont know how long this will last. I dont think these sanctions go beyond National Security sanctions. Obama had already imposed on russia years ago. The sanctions that have already been put on russia during this administration, the president had to have his hand forced by congress. Steve, lets say we take putin at his word when he calls this the beginnings of an economic war. What does that mean for the average american . You know, as you said earlier, with the russian economy being as small as it is, not a whole lot. Russias going to continue to pump oil, as tim suggested. That is the absolute lifeline for russia. It will be a significance offset, especially if the saudis are successful at stabilizing oil prices. I think the question, stephanie, going back to something i mentioned earlier, the way that all of these foreign developments affect the u. S. Is
potentially through global instability. And, remember, in 08, in 90, the u. S. Acted very much as a global stabilizer, helping turkey sorry, helping europe, helping All Over The World in terms of trying to get the Financial System from blowing up. Donald trump is not quite putting the u. S. In that stabilizing role anymore. He sort of shows up at the fire rather than shooting water, shooting maybe gasoline on some of the fires here. And thats okay if the u. S. Economys going to remain strong. And if the separate fires dont conjoin. I hate to use the Wildfire Metaphor now. You can imagine if the combination of turkey, the combination of russia, south africa, some of these weaker countries, thats the reason why the market is down today. Its down a bit. You could imagine things getting a bit worse if Global Financial stability becomes an issue and that would be lapping against american shores. Insult meet injury. All right. I think about all those Market Professors who say look at the tax cuts, look at the deregulation. Forget the rhetoric. What about the president s rhetoric becoming policy. We have to ask you about wilbur ross. You lay out on paper all of his conflicts and its shocking. The greatest gift to ross this week was Chris Collins getting arrested. Ross conflicts arent going anywhere. Walk us through what they are and what this means to the administration. Can he stay in his position, given all hes done . To build off what steve was just saying about trump showing up at the fire with gasoline rather than water. A lot of these issues surrounding the Trump Administration where they fall short, arent even ideological or partisan. Its about good management. When that issue lands on ross, you have someone whos a Potential Steward of trade policy, who we have all these Trade Fires Being IgnitedAround The World, and yet hes maintained a Portfolio Business Interest that raises questions about whether or not hes making Policy Decisions in an unbiased
way. He has interests in shipping companies, in china. For the chinese government. Also has interest in while hes also participating in trade Policy Decisions on china. He has interest in the company that ships steel out of south korea while the Trump Administration decides to give south korea a pass on steel tariffs. All of these questions raise real doubts about how independent willbur ross is. And really wiping out financial conflicts of interest. And the problem in washington is that donald trump himself has not taken any serious steps to limit his own financial conflicts of interest. All of these people in his administration who are sort of flagrantly Breaking The Rules and arent being held to account. Scott pruitt is one. Ross is another. Scott pruitt left the building. Tom bryce left the building. Steve, whats your take . How is this going to unfold for ross . You know, it depends on i
think jim says it right, its really up to the president here. Congress does not seem to be doing its congressional its constitutionally mandated Oversight Role when it comes to members of the administration. Theyre not expressing any outrage. And it depends on some level or measure of public outrage. Reporting has been pretty good here. In terms of some of those conflicts. And well see if the president decides that ross becomes more of a liability than an asset. Well, maybe were asking too much in terms of congressional oversight, especially when those members of congress are working on some Insider Trading issues and getting stock tips from one another when they sit on corporate boards, it makes it a little difficult. Steve, tim. Thank you so much. Im not saying everyone but it is a wow. Up next, Vice President pence announces the formation of a new branch of the military. The space force. There is plenty to mock there of course. But are we actually falling behind in our capabilities in space and what has to happen before it actually takes off . Introducing e trade personalized investments professionally managed portfolios customized to help meet your financial goals. Youll know what youre invested in and how its performing. So you can spend more Time Floating about on your inflatable swan. [ding] ayep, and my teeth are yellow. . Time for whitestrips. Crest glamorous White Whitestrips are the only adaaccepted whitening strips proven to be safe and effective. And they whiten 25x better than a leading whitening toothpaste. Crest. Healthy, beautiful smiles for life. You always get the lowest price on our rooms, guaranteed . Lets say it in a really low voice. Carl . Lowest price, guaranteed. Just stick with badda book. Badda boom. Book now at choicehotels. Com
it was always our singular focus, a distinct determination. To do whatever it takes, use every possible resource. To fight cancer. And never lose sight of the patients were fighting for. Our Cancer Treatment specialists share the same vision. Experts from All Over The World, working closely together to deliver truly personalized cancer care. Specialists focused on treating cancer. Using advanced technologies. And more precise treatments than before. Working as hard as we can doing all that we can for everyone who walks through our doors. This is Cancer Treatment centers of america. And these are the specialists were proud to call our own. Treating cancer isnt one thing we do. Its the only thing we do. Expert medicine works here. Learn more at cancercenter. Com Cancer Treatment centers of america. Appointments available now. The Trump Administration is proposing to take the u. S. Armed forces to infinity and beyond. Vice president mike pence unveiled the administrations plan to create a sixth branch of the u. S. Military by 2020. Known as a space force. The administration is asking congress for 8 billion. I remind you, there is not clean water yet in pliflint, michigan. Protecting the United States from emerging threats and also combating space age advancements by china and russia. They hope to have it up and running by 2020. Too often, previous administrations all by neglected the growing Security Threats emerging in space. President trump stated clearly and forcefully that space is, in his words, a warfighting do ma domain, just like land and air and sea. Just as weve done in ages past, the United States of america, under his leadership, will meet the emerging threats on this new battlefield. I know it seems like it was sort of absurd, but he was just
glad nobody was asking him about Paul Manafort. I want to bring in dr. Jemison, a former nasa astronaut and the first africanamerican female to go into space in 1992. A hero of mine. Matt walsh r, not a hero of min but a friend. What do you think of the proposal . Im disappointed. Were taking something that has an opportunity to really unite humanity, that we can work around, Space Exflor Ratiplorae using it divisively. If there are issues associated with reorganization, that makes sense. The United States has formidable capabilities in space. Yes, we need to keep them up. There is already a level of militarization. The need to create a separate military branch, the pentagon required another 8 billion to do that, is really disappointing. It is worrisome because of the rhetoric, not the issue around
reorganization to be more reb t robust, to do other things. There is a threat. China and russia are testing antisatellite weapons and moving forward. Do we need to be doing so . Well, weve actually been able to do some of this before. Weve actually done it. We do have formidable capabilities. Again, making sure that we have all the adequate, and not just adequate, but the strong capabilities we need are absolutely a requirement. The question is whether we need another branch of the military to do it. Whether or not we need to spend an additional 8 billion to do it, when theres so many other ways we can look at this. The reorganization, there are issues that could go on in the pentagon and military, the air force, how they use the funding. You know, it is the issues around needing another branch. Matt, defense secretary jim mattis now says he is on board. Months ago, he criticized it. Im following ben sasse on twitter, and he is mocking it. Athletic directors understand all Service Academies can be track games, but Space Force Academy is especially dangerous. There are intergalactic, planetary, planetary and intergalactic skills are mad good. You have ben sasse quoting the beas beastie boys. Mike pence is saying, this is the future. Ben sasse is making fun of it. A couple months ago, mattis was like, this is not a good idea. Who wants this besides the president . Secretary wilson has, in the past, previously said this isnt a good idea. Were trying to organize so many things here. It is a bureaucratic nightmare. The best stuff that has happened in Space Development over the last five, six years has almost exclusively come from the private sector. It is when barack obama said, lets open this to more private competition. Lets stop having the u. S. Government and nasa be a ma nop
li monopolist on the space goods out there. The idea of a topdown kind of way of developing things hasnt worked in the past. Thats where we got stuck before. The pentagon is not known for Spending Money well. We cant get joint Fighter Aircraft together, that we can share between the various branches. There is no reason to believe that this is going to happen well now. I think what were seeing here is what weve seen a lot from the Trump Administration on policies that are serious and unserious. He has a brain fart. Then they rally around him and try to create a backfill for whatever he proposed on the fly. This isnt seriously thought through, no matter how mike pence gets the look in his eyes. The far off gaze, talking about the president doing this with great forethought. Theyre just making it up. Matt is unaware that word is forbidden on this show. What is the dream, quickly . So, one of the things,
initiatives ive been working on, has been how do we use Space Exploration to get people connected Around The World . We have a lot of capabilities already, in terms of the military. I think what matt just said about how do we become more robust . It is not by a topdown approach. The way to do this is, yes, sort of siay, inside of the military for the pentagon, agencies that exist, to rearrange and do what they need to do to make their capabilities more effective and robust. At the same time, we have to understand that creating more Weapon Systems and technology, escalation in space is not going to make us safer. It is an illusion. We need to clean it up and, together, we will rise. Mae and matt, thank you both so much. You know how we end the show. No matter what, there is always good news. This one, good news certainly rules. After learning their daughters teacher had to take multiple busses to get to and from her Alabama School every day,