Transcripts For MSNBCW Way 20240703

The possibility of issuing himself a pardon. Good morning and welcome to Way Too Early on this friday, september 15th. Im jonathan lemire. Thanks for starting your day with us. And well begin this morning with Tens Of Thousands of United Auto Workers hitting the picket lines. The union officially went on strike against detroits big three auto makers at midnight. Nearly 13,000 members walked out of three plants in missouri, ohio, and in michigan. The strike is against general motors, ford, and stellantis. The union and the companies failed to reach a deal on a new collective Bargaining Agreement before the current contract expired at the stroke of 12 00. Tonight for the first time in our history we will strike all three of the big three at once. We are using a new strategy, the stand up strike. We will call on select facilities, locals, or units to stand up and go on strike. This strategy will keep the companies guessing. It will give our National Negotiators maximum leverage and flexibility in bargaining. And if we need to go all out, we will. Everything is on the table. The union is demanding a 40 pay raise over the next four years, noting that the Compensation Packages for the big threes Chief Executives have increased about that much amid near record earnings. The auto makers are condemning the strike. Overnight gm released a statement stating that before the walkout began it offered, quote, Historic Wage Increases and an unprecedented economic package. Ford says the unions latest Counter Proposal shows little movements from their original demands, adding their requests would hurt the companies and give a boost to nonunion rivals such as tesla and toyota. Well have much more on this story as the morning goes on. We turn now to the growing reaction today following the federal grand jury indictment of President Joe Bidens son, hunter, on three felony gun charges. Setting the stage for a possible Criminal Trial during the 2024 campaign. Two counts are tied to hunter biden, allegedly completing a form indicating that he was not using Illegal Drugs when he purchased a Colt Resolver back in october 2018. The third count suggested he possessed a firearm while using a narcotic. Two of the counts carry a maximum Prison Sentence of two years while the third has a maximum of five years. We should note its rare to see someone serve that kind of time for a charge like this. Each count also carries a maximum fine of 250,000. The historic indictment against the son of a sitting president comes after a plea deal fell apart earlier this year and after House Republicans launched an Impeachment Inquiry seeking bank records and other documents from the president and his son. The cases being overseen by special counsel david weiss who also headed the original investigation. Lets recall weiss is a Trump Appointee who was kept on as u. S. Attorney for delaware because of the sensitive and unique nature of this particular investigation. Attorney general Merrick Garland named weiss as a special counsel in august just as those negotiations over the tax and gun charges collapsed. Lead counsel for hunter biden, lawyer abbe lowell issued a statement. The recent ruling by several federal courts that this statute is unconstitutional and the facts that he did not violate that law, and we plan to demonstrate all of that in court. The white house referred requests for comment to the Justice Department as well as Hunter Bidens legal team. Joining us now msnbc justice and Legal Affairs analyst, he was most recently top spokesman at the doj under attorney general Merrick Garland. Anthony, thanks for being with us this morning. We really appreciate it. So lets get your reaction as to the charges coming yesterday in this indictment, the possibility of a trial. Jonathan, it really shouldnt have come to this. Hunter biden is a first time nonviolent offender. He doesnt have any prior criminal history. This matter, quite frankly, should have been resolved with a Plea Agreement in july. That, of course, fell apart. It shouldnt have, and theres a lot of reasonings i think theres a lot of blame really to go around on both seeds as to why that fell apart. But im not really surprised since that agreement fell apart, im not surprised the Justice Department filed these charges. Are you surprised at all by the timing of it . As we just noted the plea deal fell a month or so back. Certainly the republicans have kicked up their own investigations since then. A lot of Public Pressure On David Weiss To Act on this. I think it was simply a question about statute and Time Running Out on these kind of charges. Okay. So lets talk a little bit about the actual charges themselves. You said like youre surprised. You dont think that if someone else was in the situation whose last name was not perhaps biden would not face these charges. Whats your read on additional charges that could come. Certainly the special counsel leaves speculation whether its about lobbying or taxes or some other matter. This was the question raised by the court, that the judge raised in Delaware In July that there could be additional charges. I think it is more likely that we see tax charges. Im not so sure about these far related charges that some have speculated on. I havent seen any reporting that suggests any of those type of charges are imminent. Its certainly possible. We should also underscore here despite republicans rhetoric about Hunter Bidens Business Dealings and President Biden, none of these charges have anything to do with that. Theres certainly been no evidence whatsoever. Thats been the case presented at this point, anyway. Anthony, lastly lets assume this goes to trial. What do you think a sort of timeline we could be looking at. Walk us through the next couple of months or year or two . Im not kwipsed it is going to trial. I suspect Hunter Bidens new attorney, abbe lowell pretty noted and respected against washington circles, i suspect he has conversations with prosecutors to resume plea negotiations, that he will. I think the risk here is for republicans, jonathan. What people what they dont always realize is that addiction is real, and there are millions and millions of americans across this country who face addiction and are familiar with the pains of addiction. And theres i think a great risk that republicans overplay their hand, not really appreciating the fact that hunter biden is a man who struggled with addictions. And i think they could see themselves in hunter biden in a sense. Yeah, certainly some close to the president believe thats the case and those who sympathize also see a fatherss love for his son. Anthony coley, thank you so much. Certain well be talking to you again soon. Before we go to break, we now turn to an nbc news exclusive sit down interview. Former President Donald Trump told Meet The Press that he was given the option of issuing a selfpardon before leaving the white house. Trump claims he denined to do so. Mr. President , if you were reelected, would you pardon yourself . I could have pardoned myself. You know what . I was given an option to pardon myself. I could have pardoned myself when i left. I had a couple of attorneys that said you can do it for you want. I had some people that said it would look bad if you do it, because i think it would look terrible. I said heres the story, these people are thugs, horrible people, fascists, marxists, sick people. Theyve been after me from the day i came down the escalator with melania, and i did a great job as president. People will acknowledge great economy, great job, great this, great that, rebuild the Military Space everything. I could go on forever. Let me just tell you, i said the last thing id ever do was give myself a pardon. I could have given myself a pardon. The last day i could have had a pardon done that would have saved me all of these lawyers and all these fake charges, these biden indictments theyre all biden indictments politically. They indicted they want to arrest their political opponents. Only third world countries do that, a Banana Republic itself. I never said this to anybody. I was given the option i could have dup a pardon of myself. You know what i said, i had no interest in even thinking about it. I never even wanted to think about it, and i could have done it. And all these questions youre asking me about the fake judges, you wouldnt be asking me because its a very powerful, a very powerful thing for a president. I was told by some people that these are sick lunatics that im dealing with. I said i didnt give myself a pardon. Even if you were reelected in this moment . I think its very likely. I didnt do anything wrong. You mean because i challenged an election they want to put me in jail . We should note the same interview to sit down with Kristen Welker has been extemded to President Biden. For more of this interview, be sure to watch the entire this sunday on Meet The Press. This sunday of course kristens first. Congrats to her. Still ahead former President Trump wont have to go to trial in Fulton County, georgia, next month. Well get to new ruling from the judge there and potential timing of that Election Interference Case. Plus in a profanity laced tirade House Speaker Kevin Mccarthy goes off on gop critics threatening to oust him. Those stories and a check on sports and weather when we come right back. Sports and weather when we come right back businesses need 5g solutions today. Thats why they choose tmobile for business. Mlb partners with tmobile to not only enhance the fan experience, but to advance how the game is played. 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Secret helps eliminate odor, instead of just masking it. And hours later, i still smell fresh. Secret works ohhh yesss. Every day, businesses everywhere are asking is it possible . With comcast business. It is. Is it possible to use predictive monitoring to address Operations Issues . We can help with that. Can we provide health care virtually anywhere . We can help with that, too. Is it possible to survey foot traffic across all of our locations . Yeah absolutely. With the advanced connectivity and intelligence of global secure networking from comcast business. Its not just possible. Its happening. Welcome back as we turn to some of the mornings other top headlines on what is shaping up to be a busy news day. Former President Donald Trump and a majority of his codefendants in the Fulton County Election Interference Case will not go to trial next month. That decision was announced yesterday by a judge as he ruled in favor of two defendants who would separate their trials from the larger group. Kenneth chesebro and sidney powell, both attorneys, had requested speedy trials. And Superior Court judge scott mcafee rule they would be tried together next month. Fulton County District attorney fani willis wanted to try all 19 defendants simultaneously also next month, but the judge rejected that request citing the strain of such a large trial on the Fulton County courthouse as one of the concerns. Quote, the Fulton County courthouse doesnt contain a courtroom large enough to handle the support staff, court personnel, and the states Prosecutorial Team is what the judge wrote. The d. A. s team had wrote due to the nature of the rico case trying a single defendant would take as much time as trying all 19. Judge mcafee noted there may be other codefendants who were granted separate trials from the larger group. Turning to this now, as the war in ukraine rages on, a senior ukrainian official tells nbc news president Volodymyr Zelenskyy is indeed planning to attend the United Nations General Assembly next week. Another source familiar with the plan says zelenskyy is expected to meet with President Biden at the white house next thursday. Zelenskyy will also meet with a group of lawmakers on capitol hill during his trip. The visit comes as the real question is whether House Republicans will continue to authorize funding. Turning to this story, there is no evidence ufos that have been reported have actually come from planets far, far away. So that determination, perhaps a disappointment, was made by a panel of scientists commissioned by nasa to study the hundreds of unknown objects reported by everyone from Conspiracy Theorists to military personnel. The Washington Post puts it this way. Some objects that once befuddled experts have now been identified as spy drones deployed by china or mere optical illusions. Only a small handful of studied sightings remain truly unexplained, officials have said. The report also stresses the need for more serious study of ufos. Nasa administrator bill nelson said they want to, quote, shift the conversation from sensationallism to science. We, of course, will keep you posted. Still ahead well turn to sports. Thursday night football off to a sluggish start but finish strong. Well bring you those highlights. And top headlines from Major League Baseball. Thats all straight ahead. Major league baseball. Thats all straight ahead. I ju. I was hesitant to get the hearing aids because of my short hair. But nobody even sees them. Our nearly invisible hearing aids are just one reason weve been the brand leader for over 75 years. When i finally could hear for the first time, i could hear everything. 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Here comes pressure. There goes the ball, wide open. It is smith again all the way for the touch down. You just saw it eagles quarterback jalen hertz airing it out again in philadelphia a 20point lead over the mib vikings in the third quarter. Phillys lead was largely built on the ground as hertz also rushed for a pair of scores while the running back had a rushing td that ended minnesotas comeback bid in the fourth quarter, but they still include 20 with that 3428 win. Meanwhile quarterback aaron rogers underwent surgery on wednesday to repair the Season Ending Injury to his achilles tendon that he suffered just four plays into the jets opener monday night. Days later im still reeling from this, rogers posted a photo on instagram with a statement saying the surgery went great and thanked staff for, quote, starting me on the road to recovery. Turning now to Major League Baseball we begin in boston, the red sox and yankees split yesterdays doubleheader at fenway park, keeping both teams in a tie for last place in the American League east. And as the red sox approach the possibility of a third last place finish in four seasons, the team has fired chief baseball officer han bloom. I was supposed to be up at the game wednesday night. It was rained out. Its been that kind of year for the sox. Meanwhile in baltimore the Tampa Bay Rays struck at the top of the division leaving the orioles last night in their opener, cut baltimores lead atop the al east to just one game. That will be a fun fight to the finish. To toronto now. The Texas Rangers etcompleted a slumping sweep, last nights victory over the jays guarantees texas its first winning season since 2016 and tightens the race for the nl west. The rangers now a half game behind the first place season astros. Seattle just 1 1 2 back themselves. Time now for the weather. I dont know if you got out and got to the joy some of that sunshine, really, really nice. Unfortunately, weve got a cup of unsettled days for parts of new england as we finally see the approach of hurricane lee. Heres the details of the tropical alerts right now. What you see in pink thats the hurricane watch. It is for parts of coastal maine, but stretching from east port to west port and maine to massachusetts, heres the details, category 1 and moving at a pretty good pace now, moving north at 16 miles per hour, well expect that forward speed to pick up a bit more here over the next day or so. But check out how expansive the wind field is. Well see the impacts up and down the east coast and extending but the Tropical Storm force winds will finally arrive for parts of massachusetts today. Really the Southern Tier of the impacted area is going to see the Storm Conditions from the cape down to down east maine, thats where were going to see the impacts as far as the stronger winds. Well likely see the system come onshore maybe nova scotia. Either way heres the winds we can expect. Even inland areas could see 30, 40 mile per hour winds in this region. The good news is the storm surge not looking quite as bad as it originally was, jonathan. But well still have minor to moderate flooding and additional places in maine could see up to 5 inches. Angie lassman, thank you so much. Enjoy your weekend. Still ahead here on Way Too Early, weve got new reporting on the Biden Administrations impeachment strategy. Plus Kevin Mccarthy dares his gop critics to carry out their threat in an effort to remove him as speaker. Well have more on the republican infighting when we come right back. Ore on the republican infighting when we come right back. Help make trading feel effortless. And its customizable scans with social sentiment help you find and unlock opportunities in the market. E trade from Morgan Stanley. 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Is it possible to survey foot traffic across all of our locations . Yeah absolutely. With the advanced connectivity and intelligence of global secure networking from comcast business. Its not just possible. Its happening. Welcome back to Way Too Early. It is just before 5 30 a. M. On the east coast, 2 30 out west. Im jonathan lemire. Thanks for being with us. The Biden White House is pursuing a strategy used by the Trump Administration to tackle the ongoing Impeachment Inquiry. According to some reporting in the New York Times bidens team is meeting the inquiry by attempting to convince the public it is nothing more than politics. The goal is to discredit the republican effort in the eyes of independent voters and wayward democrats before anything really takes hold. Since mccarthys announcement, the white house and its allies have gone on the defensive, dismissing the allegations against the president as baseless and debunked, attacking the investigators for distorting the evidence, issuing fundraising appeals to financial supporters, and urging the news media to closely scrutinize the accusations. Elsewhere in washington, House Speaker Kevin Mccarthy is calling out members who are threatening to hold a vote to remove him from his speakership. In a House Republican Conference Meeting yesterday, mccarthy told his caucus, quote, if you want to file a motion to vacate, then file the blanking motion. Folks, he didnt say the word blanking. That account is according to two sources who were in the room. This comes as congressman matt gaetz of florida is threatening to essentially hold a No Confidence Vote in mccarthy if the speaker doesnt meet the House Freedom caucus demands over the Government Funding bill. Mccarthy acknowledged the comments after the meeting saying he was frustrated with how the caucus is holding up the process to fund the government. I told my conference i know tomorrow is the jewish holiday. Well be out of session, but when we come back, were not going to leave. Were going to get this done. Nobody wins in a Government Shutdown. Look, threats dont matter and sometimes people do those things because of personal things, thats all fine. I focus just like anything else, if you watched most people im a little irish, okay, so i dont walk away from a battle. Joining us now congressional reporter for the hill, mykah snell. Lets talk about the republican infighting. Those on the far right are acting like they have him on puppet strings. The people you talk to within the party, where do they think this is going . Frustrations are running high, jonathan, within the republican conference, and it comes at a High Pressure moment for congress. Were staring down that Government Funding deadline, september 30th. Kevin mccarthy has said he does not want a shutdown while some members of his right flank are saying they would be content with a shutdown. You also have this Impeachment Inquiry which Kevin Mccarthy decided to open amid pressure from that right flank. So right now things are tentative in the House Republican conference. It looks like we may may be seeing that vote in the near future. Matt gaetz said if mccarthy puts a continuing resolution on the floor, he will bring a motion to vacate against Kevin Mccarthy and of course with Time Running Out, both houses of congress very far behind in the formal appropriations process. A continuing resolution is going to be needed to keep the lights on past september 30th, sole we are looking for this infighting and tension to heighten even more. When that first motion to vacate comes, but look you saw Kevin Mccarthy right there saying hes frustrated, and in that closed door meeting saying bring it on. And of course were already at september 15th. The clock is ticking for keeping the governments lights on. Lets switch back to the Impeachment Inquiry you just mentioned. You know, the Biden White House is doing a couple things at once here. First of all, theyre just trying to show President Biden being president. Hes held a couple of events this week. Next week itll be Foreign Policy and at the United Nations hosting president zelenskyy and hes still doing the job, and this idea the play book the trump people used to saying an Impeachment Inquiry is simply politics as usual. Whats your sense there . Democrats you talked to on the hill do they think thats going to be the right approach . Thats right now indications theyre going to be doing. Theyve been trying to discredit the allegations House Republicanps brought up. Theyve been trying to dilute the importance uncovered by House Republicans on the oversight committee, on the judiciary committee. Weve seen this particularly from congressman jamie raskin. Overall democrats are saying theyre in this for the long haul. Theyll defend president dieden until as long as they need to. We heard that from House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries this week. Maybe we could see some democrats criticizing hunter biden and saying hunter biden may be corrupt, there may be some fishy things going on with President Biden, but President Biden had actually nothing to do with that. We saw a comment along the lines of congressman dean philips, a democrat from minnesota earlier this week essentially saying hunter biden did some corrupt things, but thats not President Biden and not a reason to impeach the president. So i think we have a few different arguments, defenses being floated right now tried out in the media from these house democrats, but by and large the commonality at the bottom line is democrats are in to defend President Biden and theyre not letting up on that. Certainly not only is threno evidence of wrongdoing from President Biden but hunter biden did not work in the white house. Important reporting and busy on the hill. Im certain well be talking to you again soon. Coming up next well turn to cnbc for this mornings Business Headlines and bring you an update on the markets following yesterdays rally on wall street. Well be right back with that. L street well be right back with that. Age is just a number, and mines unlisted. Try boost® high protein with 20 grams of protein for Muscle Health versus 16 grams in ensure® high protein. Boost® high protein. Now available in cinnabon® bakeryinspired flavor. Learn more at boost. Com tv upgrade ready. Upgrade ready one. One. Patrick is saying tmobile lets you upgrade as often as every year. Take charge with the freedom to upgrade every year with go5g next at tmobile. Also, hes hungry. Time now for business, and for that lets bring in cnbcs Joumanna Bercetche who joins us live from london. Its going to be another packed day for data. Whats your sense as to what wall street is expecting in. Well, good morning, john. Markets are looking up today. All the majors ended the session in the green up about 0. 8 to 0. 9 . We took a close look at the data that came out yesterday. Strong retail Sales Numbers coming at 0. 6 in august compared to 0. 9 in july. The market brushed that off because the core number came in line with expectations. Investors are also cheering on the successful debut of Chip Designer arm. Thats one of the reasons why the nasdaq did so well. Weve got the Consumer Sentiment reading import and Export Prices for august, and we have industrial and manufacturing prices for august. And dont forget, jaup, we do have the fed meeting coming up next week. 95 of economists are expecting them to do nothing, which is in line with market expectation, but still they may surprise communications. Thats going to be a big event to watch out for. No doubt the Economic News well be covering it closely. You mention arm which is a u. K. Based Chip Designer, and it made a very successful nasdaq debut yesterday. Tell us a little bit more about that idea. That is right. We have been talking about this ipo for weeks now. There was a lot of anticipation builtup nih this seminal event. In the end arm sold 99. 5 of its shares. Soft bank of course went private in 2016 retaining 90 of the shares outstanding. Let me tell you, john, after its debut at the end of the day the stock was up 25 . That was its Closing Price and today its also seen opening up another 16 . Very strong reaction to this. And many Tech Investors are saying perhaps this could help unlock the ipo market as a whole. Its the biggest tech ipo of the year, and in general its been a bit quiet and subdued. This could change things, at least thats what people are hoping for. Well certainly be watching that, and one more for you yesterday that got a lot of attention. Oil prices in the United States have jumped. Yesterday crude topped 90 a barrel for the first time in ten months. Whats driving this price hike . Yes, its quite extraordinary whats happening to the price of oil because they are once again on the rise. Ti prices break through that level. 13 for the year as a whole. And youll remember at the beginning of this week, john, saudi arabia and russia announced theyre continuing with their Output Extensions and what its doing is tightening the market. There was a market deficit, and there was more demand than supply. And because of that these prices continued with a warning this could result in a huge deficit for the market the last few months of the year. So the take away perhaps is for the u. S. Consumers expect higher prices at the pump going forward. Cnbcs Joumanna Bercetche joining us live from london, thank you. Have a good, restful weekend. Still ahead here on Way Too Early, well have more reaction to the Retirement Announcement from senator mitt romney, contributor to the conservative website the bulwark with tim miller. He joins me to talk about that and other political headlines. Ot and other political headlines. Mucinex dm gives you 12 hours of relief from Chest Congestion and any type of cough, day or night. Mucinex dm. Its comeback season. Businesses need 5g solutions today. Thats why they choose tmobile for business. Mlb partners with tmobile to not only enhance the fan experience, but to advance how the game is played. Aaa relies on tmobiles network to stay connected nationwide, so they can help get their members back on the road. And were helping pano ai innovate, to stop the spread of wildfires. 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Hes going to be involved and hell be speaking out. And his knowledge and expertise is truly needed. That was democratic senator joe manchin weighing in on republican senator mitt romneys decision not to run for reelection next year. Joining us now contributor to the conservative website the bulwark, tim miller. He previously served as Communications Director for jeb bush and spokesman for the Republican National committee. Tim, your latest for the bulwark is titled farewell to mitt romney, republican with a spine. And in it you write about senator romneys courage to denounce trump when nobody else in the party would. Were going to read a little from it now. Romney could have retired to his car elevator and grandchildren olympics. Instead he stay in the fray, becoming the only republican senator to vote to convict trump, the first to vote to convict a president of his own party. The gop elected official with the most cleareyed rationale, the one most willing to openly attack the trump minions like George Santos who have infested the capitol. Tim, expand a bit more on What Washington and in particular what the Republican Party will be missing once senator romney steps off the stage . Yeah, it was already a very small and meek conference of republicans in congress who were willing to speak out about donald trump before mitt romney made this announcement. If you go back to look at those who impeached trump many of them particularly on the house side were flushed out either in the last election and Adam Kinzinger and liz cheney and others, and this is i think basically, you know, the last person, you know, who was in there who has had the courage in his convictions and made the moral case against trump. Others have spoken out from time to time, but romney was the one who has gotten to the core of donald trump and not fit to be in office and someone who doesnt have the character to be a president. Not having that voice in washington i think just kind of solidifies the trajectory we are on, which is that the Republican Party is, you know, completely submitted to donald trump and unwilling to address all of his myriad flaws. So romney was sort of insulated on the maga pressures because of republicans and how popular he is in that state. Weve seen other republicans try to stand up and trump and got all frankly crushed when liz cheney comes to mind after she stood up to him. Is there anyone you see in the party in washington with any position of power at all who could fill romneys shoes . No. I wish i could come up with something. I hope that at some point someone rises to the moment, right . You know, you never want to hope for Mitch Mcconnell to do the right thing, but if you just look back after january 6th, who else, you know, kind of with stature did speak out . Well, i guess it was mitch because he spoke on the floor of the senate. He didnt whip his Conference Numbers to vote to convict. If we believe the reporting theres a reporting in the atlantic, you know, mitch was actually trying to talk some senators off of voting to convict trump out of fear of what it would mean for the republican majority in the senate they went onto lose anyway. Mitch had credit, was doing it from the very moment i joined an antitrump super pac in the spring of 2016. Liz cheney, she came late, but she did the right thing, so maybe someone else would have emerged but im not optimistic about that. Lets get to your assessment of the state of the gop race, a new poll has trump up 40 almost 50 points on ron desantis. Do you see anything slowing him down . If you look at like a chart of the polls since the first debate trump look at the, like, of the polls since that first debate that trump didnt show up for, its basically flat. We have an entire debate without trump, and it changed the race not at all. Nikki haley went up two points or something, five to seven. Right now, he is winning in an absolute landslide. I have to say, jonathan, its pretty crazy. Like, were hearing this place that, you know, weve spent this time talking about how people havent stood up to trump and spoken about him, but, still, 17 republicans, seven in the senate and in the house that voted to prevent him from ever running to be president again. You know, to go from where we were on january 7th, where even Lindsey Graham was saying things, to now, everyone has just gotten back in line. You know, no one is trying to change this, its pretty astonishing. But, no, there hasnt been any change in the primary at this point. If youre trump, why show up to a future debate . Didnt matter there at all. Contributor to the conservative website, the bulwark, tim miller, come back soon. We enjoy talking with you. Up next on Way Too Early, President Biden is ramping up his criticism of republicans Economic Policy ahead of a potential Government Shutdown. How he is trying to link the gops economic agenda to donald trump. Coming up on morning joe, for the first time in history, Union Workers launched a strike against all big three automakers after Contract Negotiations fell short. Were going to be joined by senator gary peters of michigan who participated in uaws strike in 2019. Plus, hunter biden is indicted on federal gun charges after his plea deal collapsed. What could happen next for the president s son . And trump is pressed on his handling of classified documents after he left the white house. What he seems to confess to just some of the federal charges against him. Jen psaki, Andrew Wiseman and Mike Barnicle are standing by with reaction. Morning joe just a few moments away. jen so we partner with verizon to take our operations to the next level. marquis with a custom private 5g network. ella with verizon business, we get more control of production, efficiencies, and greater agility. marquis so our customers get what they want, when they want it. jen its not just a network. Its enterprise intelligence. vo learn more. Its your vision, its your verizon. Ah morning. The golden hour of cold and flu symptoms. Im feeling better. Cough . Congestion . All in one and done with new Mucinex Kickstart. Ah hated that. Headache . Better. Ah fever . Body pain . Better now. Aaaaah new Mucinex Kickstart gives all in one and done relief with a morning jolt of instant cooling sensation. Its not cold and flu season. Its comeback season. Age is just a number, and mines unlisted. 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With a possible Government Shutdown looming, President Joe Biden touted his economic agenda during a speech in maryland yesterday and also went on attack, slamming republicans for what he called maganomics. Since ive come to office, all theyve really done is attack me and my economic plan. Notice something, for all the time they spent attacking me and my plan, heres what they never do. They never talk about what they want to do. No, no, think about it. They tell you what theyre against. What are they for . Look, their plan, maganomics, is more extreme than anything america has ever seen before. Just months ago, they went further than anyone has ever gone, threatening to default on the debt, over 220 years old. Theyre back about it again, breaking their commitment, threatening more cuts and threatening to shut down the government again. Joining us now, White House Reporter for bloomberg news, akayla gardner. Great to see you this morning. Bidenomics versus maganomics. Thats the contrast the white house is trying to paint. You and i know it, democrats can read the polls that show voters seem to trust republicans, trump specifically, on the economy more than this president. So whats your sense . Is this new, aggressive posture from the west wing, is it going to be effective . I think specifically on this term, maganomics that we saw rolled out for the first time yesterday, its too early to know yet whether it is going to be effective. We just dont have the Polling Numbers yet. But we know for sure that it is going to be a term were going to hear a lot as we lead up to the october 1st deadline, as we near this Government Shutdown. Something that anita dunn, Senior Adviser to President Biden, did just yesterday is she sent out a memo to Congressional Democrats and allies of the white house, basically explaining what maganomics is and basically getting everyone on the same page as they approach these very contentious budget talks in the coming weeks, about how they want to message specifically about republican policies. The things that they highlighted, raising taxes on the wealthy, also raising the Retirement Age for social security, lowering costs for medicare and medicaid. And those are things that polling shows is, frankly, on democrats side. When you break it down issue by issue, democrats have the majority of americans when it comes to these issues. Theyre really looking to highlight those things as they approach the talks with mccarthy. But something that is still a struggle for biden, he has problems getting people to understand his own Economic Policy, bidenomics. Polls show half of americans associate it with high inflation. Some associate it with tax increases, which the Biden Administration has not done on americans making less than 400,000 a year. Theyre still having problems making that case to americans. One thing is for sure, were going to hear both these terms a lot more, and they feel repetition is going to be on their side. Certainly, this next president ial contest will be decided, in part, on the economy, but the white house wants to talk about something else, too, just like they did ahead of the midterms. Thats threats to democracy. The president is planning a major speech on that topic the day after the second republican primary debate. Tell us more as to why the white house feels this is an issue they just need to keep hammering home. Yeah, democrats felt like the threats to democracy was downplayed in the runup to the midterms. They felt they had that issue on their side, as well. Something interesting from bidens speech yesterday, he sort of tied these budget talks to threats to american institutions in general. Including democracy. Two things i think worth flagging about this speech, its timing. Itll be the day after the next gop primary debate. Even though it is not the same day, itll have the appearance of being counterprogramming. And location. One location that is under consideration is the Mccain Institute. I was just with President Biden in vietnam where he visited a memorial for the late senator, john mccain, and he really applauded mccain for being able to work on a bipartisan basis and still having a great relationship and respect with President Biden, even though they had disagreements politically. That is a stark contrast from how his campaign has painted this field, basically, again, calling them maga republicans, describing them as beholden to trump and unable to work on a bipartisan basis. President biden feels that is something he has done and done well. Certainly, also, the Mccain Institute in the state of arizona, a key, key battleground for 2024. Now, the white house, of course, this weekend, the economic Government Shutdown looming and also the impact of the auto workers strike, itll be a busy few days in the west wing. White house reporter for bloomberg news, akayla gardner, thank you for joining us this morning. Have a great weekend. Well get into all the top headlines all day long on msnbc. Thanks for getting up Way Too Early with us on this friday morning and all week long. Morning joe starts right now. They dont even mention the president ial records act. This is all about the president ial records act. Im allowed to have these documents. Im allowed to take these documents, classified or not classified, and, frankly, when i have them, they become unclassified. People think tough go through a ritual. You dont. At least in my opinion, you dont. The question is simply, your lawyer signed a certification saying theyd turned over everything that was responsive. Then, when the fbi raided maralago, they found documents that were responsive, that had not been produced, marked