Transcripts For MSNBCW Way Too Early With Kasie Hunt 20210126

The hands of the senate, with the heart of the trial still two weeks away. The question is, how are both sides preparing . And ohios rob portman is now the latest swing state republican senator to announce his intention to retire. With a third senate seat now poised to open, the question is, which party is in better shape heading into 2022 . It really is too early for this. Good morning and welcome to way too early, the show that looks far, far ahead to the next election so you dont have to. I am kasie hunt on this tuesday, january 26th. We will start with the news. All 100 u. S. Senators are expected to be sworn in today as jurors in the second impeachment trial of donald trump. The nine House Democrats serving as impeachment managers delivered the single article for inciting an insurrection to the senate yesterday night. The trial will begin in earnest on february 8th, giving both sides time to prepare their cases and the senate time to confirm some of President Bidens cabinet appointees. We have also learned that Senate President pro tem, the longest serving member of the chamber, of the majority side, patrick leahy, will preside over the trial. According to majority leader Chuck Schumer, leahy was next in line after chief Justice John Roberts declined to preside over the trial of a nonsitting president. That is technically the rule. And the Washington Post reports that House Democrats are poring over hundreds of hours of video to help build their case that donald trump incited the capitol insurrection. Sources tell the paper that one idea under consideration is to produce a video that shows how rioters reacted to the president s january 6th remarks before the insurrection and that democrats are particularly interested in this video that was produced by the online forum just security. Watch. Were going to walk down to the capitol yeah [ cheers and applause ] and were probably not going to be cheering so much for [ inaudible ] youll never, ever take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength yes. [ cheers and applause ] invade the capitol building. Do the right thing. Take the capitol take the capitol take it take the capitol take the capitol take the capitol right now wow, thats disturbing to say the least. Senate minority leader mitch mcconnell, meanwhile, has announced that a powersharing agreement in the senate can go forward after two Democratic Senators voiced public support for protecting the filibuster. In negotiations with majority leader Chuck Schumer, mcconnell had refused to agree on a plan to organize the chamber without a pledge from democrats to keep the filibuster, and that was a demand that schumer rejected. These powersharing talks have been at a stalemate for days, which has kept the senate in a state of limbo, where democrats have the majority but currently republicans still control the committees. And the impasse came to an end after mcconnell pointed to statements from democrats joe manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of arizona, who both voiced their opposition to getting rid of the 60vote legislative filibuster. And joining us now, cofounder of punch bowl news, jake sherman. He is an msnbc political contributor. Jake, good morning to you its always great to see you here on way too early. Lets talk through exactly what happened here with Chuck Schumer and mitch mcconnell, because while the details are way down in the weeds, the senate split 5050, theyre fighting about the filibuster, what theyre really fighting about and what is really at stake here is how Chuck Schumer and democrats more broadly are going to grapple with demands from the Progressive Left to try and do whatever they can to get their agenda through. Theyre so angry at mcconnells what they view as mcconnells obstruction, and it puts schumer, who may face a primary challenge from aoc, in a pretty tough spot. Well, kasie, sometimes the fight is just about the fight, right . And thats how we lead off punch bowl this morning, because thats what this was about. This was about schumer and mcconnell asserting primacy over each other and fighting with each other over power. This is all about power and the control of the senate. A few things to keep in mind. Mitch mcconnell wanted the legislative filibuster intact. The legislative filibuster will be intact. Chuck schumer wanted to make sure that he did not take off the table getting rid of the legislative filibuster, and hes not taken that off the table, although he doesnt have the votes. But listen, kasie, what we point out this morning in punch bowl is that its a very, very, very difficult month or months ahead for the left. I mean, the large covid deal that joe biden wants is in trouble. They know theyre not going to get 15 minimum wage. Things of that nature are just we need to keep in mind that this is going to be rough rowing for the democratic majority early on. Right. And its split so narrowly and we probably should have explained to people the reason why these negotiations between schumer and mcconnell took on such a high degree of interest is because they have to come up with a way to share power because the chamber is literally split 5050, until Kamala Harris shows up on the floor to cast any tiebreaking votes. Jake, lets also talk about impeachment. We saw the formal ceremony yesterday, yesterday night. Im not sure i thought i would see another one in my lifetime of covering news after we saw the first one earlier this year, but here we are, a second article of impeachment has well, a single article, but its the second time that this has happened to nowformer president donald trump. And this is overshadowing things in a lot of ways. We learned rob portman is retiring yesterday. I think that says something about the Political Climate and the sense of what the futures going to be like inside the republican party. Whats your take on where members of this chamber are, the senate right now, on conviction . Because it had seemed like there was absolutely no chance. I think that may still be where we stand. But it does seem like maybe rob portman is more likely to be a yes. And im just wondering how you think this has changed any of the dynamics . I assume that rob portman will be a no. I think he could be a yes. I assume hell be a no. But all that said, i think that its going to be really hard to get 17 republicans to vote to convict donald trump. I just i just dont think its going to happen. I think that rob portman is going to take the tack that his vote if he were to vote to convict donald trump, it would be a nail in the coffin of any bipartisanship. I just think that that is how hell look at it. I dont know that for sure. But its a commentary, kasie, on how bad things have gotten, that someone like rob portman, who would have probably cruised to victory in 2022, just said its not worth it. Its not fun anymore. And we hear this you and i hear this all the time, that congress is not a good job anymore. Its just it is a place that is just partisan warfare all the time. Legislating is a secondary objective. So, you know, i think thats what a lot of people are grappling with and coming to. Portman said in his statement, its a tough time to be a public servant, and its especially true if you are someone who is there sincerely to try and get work done. And portman has done a lot of work, including on trying to protect kids online from internet porn, among other things. Hes had a lot of initiatives where hes worked across the aisle and i think is well respected on all sides. So, to have that kind of statement come from him, saying you know what, im out, is i think demoralizing for others who are still in the senate and who have similar goals on both sides of the aisle. Punch bowl news jake sherman, thank you so much for being with us this morning. And meanwhile, joe bidens historic cabinet continues to take shape with the Senate Confirming janet yellen as the first female treasury secretary. Yellen spent years as a professor before entering politics as head of bill clintons council of economic advisers in the late 1990s. From 2014 to 2018, she chaired the fed, playing a key role in the recovery in the wake of the great recession. And her confirmation comes as the senate expects to confirm Antony Blinken as the next secretary of state, as soon as today. After the Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted strongly in favor of his appointment yesterday. And President Joe Biden is starting off on a different course than his predecessor with plans to regularly receive the president s daily brief from the intelligence community, putting the daily back into that phrase. While President Trump reportedly received the inperson briefings sporadically, biden intends to have the briefing on his agenda most days. And Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to join the briefings when theyre both in washington, according to officials. Wouldnt you want to get this briefing every day . Thats something i never understood. National security implications, serious ones, aside. Still ahead here, President Biden ramps up his goal for the number of coronavirus vaccinations he hopes to reach in his first 100 days. Plus, for the first time in decades, budweiser wont be advertising during the super bowl. Well tell you what the beer giants doing instead. Well have those stories and a check on your weather when we come right back. Our weather whe come right back. If you have moderate to severe psoriasis. Or psoriatic arthritis, little things, can become your big moment. Thats why theres otezla. Otezla is not an injection or a cream. Its a pill that treats differently. For psoriasis, 75 clearer skin is achievable. With reduced redness, thickness, and scaliness of plaques. For psoriatic arthritis,. 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After about 30 days of taking it, we noticed clarity that we didnt notice before. Its still helping me. I still notice a difference. Prevagen. Healthier brain. Better life. When you switch to xfinity mobile, youre choosing to get connected to the most Reliable Network nationwide, now with 5g included. Discover how to save up to 300 a year with shared data starting at 15 a month, or get the lowest price for one line of unlimited. Come into your local xfinity store to make the most of your mobile experience. You can shop the latest phones, bring your own device, or trade in for extra savings. Stop in or book an appointment to shop safely with peace of mind at your local xfinity store. Welcome back time now for sports. Lets kick off with the nba. Sorry, thats the totally wrong metaphor. To cleveland, where lebron james keeps the lakers perfect on the road, scoring a seasonhigh 46 points in last nights 115108 win over the cavaliers. James playing in his first game in ohio in more than two years, put up 21 in the Fourth Quarter alone. Anthony davis added 17 of his own, and the defending champs improve to 100 away from home. Meanwhile, less than two hours before tipoff, the league called off last nights matchup between the San Antonio Spurs and the new Orleans Pelicans because Contact Tracing left both teams without the required eight available players for the game. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Clippers will be shorthanded in tonights matchup against the Atlanta Hawks as Kawhi Leonard and paul george have been ruled out because of the leagues health and safety protocols. There have been 22 nba games postponed so far this season. 21 of them since january 10th. As the league continues to struggle with covid19 outside the bubble, espn reports that its in talks with the Players Union about how to hold an allstar game previously scheduled for indianapolis in february. Allstar weekend was canceled because of the pandemic, but there is now a potential for a scaleddown version of the allstar festivities on march 7th in atlanta. We will keep an eye on that. Meanwhile, history on the court in orlando, where for the first time ever, two female referees officiated the same nba game. Jenna schroeder and natalie sago, two of the leagues five fulltime female referees, joined shawn wright as last nights threeperson crew for the magic hosting the charlotte hornets. It comes after the nfl announced sarah thomas will make history as the first woman to officiate a super bowl. Pretty cool. And Quarterback Tom Brady is basically a super bowl staple at this point, heading to the big game for the tenth time in 21 nfl seasons. But while bradys legacy continues, another super bowl tradition is coming to an end. There will be no puppies, clydesdales, or croaking frogs during commercial breaks as beer giant budweiser wont advertise during the broadcast for the first time in 37 years. Instead, the Company Released a 90second online ad titled bigger picture, saying it will donate a portion of its budget to a nonprofit Marketing Group thats leading a campaign to fight Coronavirus Vaccine skepticism. Anheuserbusch, which owns budweiser, will still feature ads for its other beer brands during the game. And with the risk of delay, given the pandemics impact on sports, companies are also hesitant to shell out the roughly 5. 5 million that gets you a 30second slot during the super bowl. Familiar names like cocacola, pepsi, and hyundai are also among brands that wont advertise during the big game. Its going to all look a little different this year. Time now for weather. Lets go to meteorologist bill karins for a check on the forecast. And bill, we had some pretty tough news overnight. Yeah. So, breaking news out of northern alabama. Fultondale, a tornado struck. It looks like it was a strong tornado, some time close to around midnight. Theres search and rescue going on. We just heard from the fire chief. He said that there are possibly some fatalities, nothing confirmed yet. Multiple injuries, multiple people transported to the hospital. They are still rescuing victims. I mean, when you see destruction like that, that was a strong tornado that moved through, and a nighttime tornado. Some people said they did hear the sirens, they did get to their safe rooms. But when you have a tornado thats that strong thats destroying the roof, the sides of your house and everything else, youre going to have some serious injuries. Hopefully, we wont have fatalities, but its definitely a possibility. So, as far as the storm goes, the Severe Weather portion is done. Yesterday, the snow was incredible. I mean, omaha, des moines, lincoln, all of those areas picked up about a foot of snow from this storm. I mean, an incredible, historic storm for the central plains. They typically get some messy storms and a couple inches. They dont usually get a foot of snow and a lot of problems. So, heres what were dealing with right now. We have our active storm track. We have one storm heading to the east. We have another storm back in the four corner region and then a huge storm coming into california. So weve got a very active week ahead. As far as today goes, we have a light wintry mix thats going to be heading into the northeast. Its still snowing chicago, milwaukee. Then we have our storm that brought some hail to phoenix yesterday, and thats bringing some snow to the mountains outside in arizona. And then, finally, kasie, a huge storm coming into california later on today. So, Pay Attention to your forecast as we go throughout the next 2448 hours. Its staying pretty active. Yikes well, were thinking of all of those people down in alabama who are struggling this morning, thinking of them and hoping their loved ones come out of it okay. Bill karins, thank you very much. Really appreciate it. Well see you tomorrow. And still ahead here, he may be out of the white house, but former President Trump, obviously, isnt leaving politics. Were going dig into a new report on how hes still planning to take on his political foes. Well be back in just a moment. T nicorette knows, quitting smoking is freaking hard. You get advice like try hypnosis. Or. Quit cold turkey. Kidding me . instead, start small. With nicorette. Which can lead to something big. Start stopping with nicorette want to sell the best burger in every zip code . Add an employee. Or ten. Then easily and automatically pay your team and file payroll taxes. That means. World domination or just the west side. Run payroll in less than five minutes with intuit quickbooks. My plaque psoriasis. The itching. 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Im quite confident that we will be in a position within the next three weeks or so to be vaccinating people at the range of a million a day or in excess of that. I think with the grace of god and the good will of the neighbor and the creek not rising, as the old saying goes, i think we may be able to get that to 150 1. 5 million a day, rather than 1 million a day. But we have to meet that goal of a million a day. Roughly when do you think anyones loved one will be able to get in the summer or i think it will be this spring. I think well be able to do that this spring. But its going to be a logistical challenge that exceeds anything weve ever tried in this country, but i think we can do that. I feel confident that by summer were going to be well on our way to heading toward herd immunity and increasing the access for people who arent on the first on the list, all the way going down to children and how we deal with that. But i feel good about where were going, and i think we can get it done. Welcome back. That was President Biden giving an update on the governments response to the coronavirus, saying he is confident that the vaccine will be widely available by the spring. Right now, though, there are major speed bumps in administering the vaccine, as production appears to be slowing the process. In new york city, mayor bill de blasio said yesterday that the city has the capacity to administer 500,000 doses a week but has not been able to because its waiting for the vaccine production to ramp up. De blasio further noted that last week, city officials had a goal of administering 300,000 doses but were only able to give 200,000 because of a lack of supply. Meanwhile, in california, it will likely take almost the entire rest of the year to vaccinate half of the states 40 million citizens. The current pace of vaccinations has been about 122,000 per day. At that pace, only about 20 million californians would be fully vaccinated by thanksgiving. And we are going to talk to new york city mayor bill de blasio about this coming up later on, on morning joe. But still ahead here on way too early, republican senator rob portman of ohio announces he wont be running for reelection in 2022. Were going to talk about what his exit means for the republican party. But before we go to break, we want to know, why are you awake . Email your reasons to waytooearly msnbc. Com or drop me a tweet kasie. Use waytooearly, and well read the best answers later on in the show. St answers later on in the show when youre through with powering through, its time for theraflu hot liquid medicine. Powerful relief so you can restore and recover. Theraflu hot beats cold. Tmobile is upgrading its network at a record pace. We were the first to bring 5g nationwide. And now that sprint is a part of tmobile were turning up the speed. Upgrading over a thousand towers a month with ultra capacity 5g. To bring speeds as fast as wifi to cities and towns across america. And were adding more every week. Coverage and speed. Who says you cant have it all . Want to brain better . Unlike ordinary memory supplements neuriva has clinically proven ingredients that fuel 5 indicators of brain performance. Memory, focus, accuracy, learning, and concentration. Try our new gummies for 30 days and see the difference. Are the color cartridges in your printer ready for another school year . boy whats cyan mean . It means cyanora, honor roll. mimics missile dropping the ink dad dad im so hosed. Yeah, you are. shaq the Epson Ecotank printer. No more cartridges. It comes with an incredible amount of ink that can save you a lot of trips to the store. Get ready for the deans list. Whos dean . The Epson Ecotank. Just fill and chill. Welcome back to way too early. It is 5 30 here on the east coast, 2 30 out west. Im kasie hunt. According to politico, a top political aide to former President Trump spent the weekend reassuring republican senators that the former president has no plans to start a third party, and instead, has plans to keep his imprint on the gop. According to the report, the message is the latest sign that republicans considering an impeachment conviction will do so knowing that trump may come after them in upcoming primaries, if they vote to convict him for incitement of insurrection. Politico also says trumps former political director at the white house, brian jack, did not mention impeachment in his calls, but he wanted the word to get around that trump is still a republican. And for many, still the leader of his party. And its been almost a week since former President Trump left the white house for the final time, but according to the new york times, he still harbors a deepseeded desire to punish those he believes have crossed him. The times notes that trumps deepest hostility is reserved for georgia governor brian kemp, who repeatedly debunked claims of widespread voter fraud in the state. Advisers say they expect trump to expend the most energy trying to damage kemps reelection bid. Next on trumps list, according to the times, is congresswoman liz cheney. She was the only member of house gop leadership to vote to impeach. It is unclear whether trump will target her seat or simply her leadership post in the house, but advisers said they anticipated he would take opportunities to damage her. Good luck with that. Joining us now, former Nrcc Communications director, republican consultant matt coramen. He is a Vice President at the firm targeted victory. Matt, good morning to you. I actually want to start with something we havent really read through in depth yet because i know this is something you spend a lot of time thinking about, and thats senator rob portman, who announced that hes not going to run for reelection. And i want to play a little bit of his explanation as to why for everyone and then talk to you about it on the other side. Lets watch. Honestly, its gotten harder and harder to break through the partisan gridlock and make progress on substantive policy issues, and that has contributed to my decision. So, matt, i mean, this is a serious person, someone who is in washington with sincere views on things, with a sincere desire to work with democrats. He actually did do it. Theres a track record there. Hes well respected on both sides. And he is basically just saying, im out, im done. And of course, what we just heard from former President Trump i think explains a lot of it. I mean, its been a miserable time for many of these people who felt like they wanted to do serious governing. What does portmans departure tell you, not just about the present and the past, but about the future for republicans . I think its a little i pull it back a little bit differently as well. Look, as you said, hes a serious guy. He actually wants to accomplish things and not just, you know, go out and spout a bunch of, you know, baloney. So, the way i think of it is, if youre a member of congress right now, especially a republican at this moment, you have a lot of work, a lot of stress, and probably right now youre getting some threats. Maybe your familys getting threats. And that might be worth it, if at the end of the day you could say, well, im sacrificing that you know, for x, y, z accomplishments or policy goals. But as you saw right there, its not happening. So, it seems like a lot to simply just sit in your partisan side. I think that is what he might be talking about more. And when i talk to republican members of congress, i hear a lot of that. So, matt, lets talk about trump in the context of this, because i mean, frankly, ive talked to a lot of republicans over the last four years who, frankly, never liked him, they never had very much respect for him. You know, weve talked a lot about whether or not they had the courage, and mostly, they didnt, to speak out against him. But the fact is, they were made miserable by the fact that he seems to have control of the republican party. And based on what hes saying, i mean, he doesnt intend to give that up. I mean, how much leverage do you think that trump is going to have in and hes not just really a former president , hes really an exile. Hes off twitter. He appealing to facebook to try to get back on. What kind of power does he have right now . Look, i think it remains to be seen. If we were to have this conversation three months ago, when we were talking about him possibly announcing for reelection on Inauguration Day and going right into a reelect, obviously a lots changed. So, that story you talked about this morning says he wants to take a break for a few months. Look, right now its very volatile at the moment, so really, a lot of these folks, whether its kemp, certainly some of these senators who might not be up in 2022 have the luxury of time. And quite frankly, he should be focused more, first, on his impeachment trial than november 2022. And matt, quickly, do you think there is the appetite to convict him . I mean, i get the sense mcconnell wants to slam the door on him but that he may not have 16 other republicans willing to do that. You know, mcconnells statement a few weeks ago made me take note. Maybe two weeks ago, there would be more momentum. I think in the last couple of weeks, that has drained. I think a lot of republicans in the senate simply want to move on, put the trump administration, as much as they can, behind them, and focus on the biden agenda. Fair enough. All right, matt gorman, thank you very much, my friend. We always appreciate your analysis, appreciate you getting up early with us. And still ahead here, among the biden administrations goals for the u. S. Economy is a new look for the currency plus, how americas first dogs are settling in to their new home at the white house. Well have those stories coming up next in the cooler. Way too early back in just a moment. Way too early back in just a moment burke at farmers, we know a thing or two because weve seen a thing or two. Like how nice it is to switch and save on your auto policy. But its even nicer knowing that if this happens. Or this happens. Or this. Or even this. Weve seen and covered it. So, call 1800farmers to switch your auto policy and you could save an average of four hundred seventy dollars. Get a quote today. We are farmers. Bumpadum, bumbumbumbum welcome back. Time now for some of the things that will have people talking today. Two very good boys arrived at the white house yesterday. The bidens german shepherds, major and champ, quickly acquainted themselves with their new digs. Major, who is the first rescue dog to grace the white house, frolicked on the south lawn, while 12yearold champ cozied up by the fireplace, according to the first ladys press secretary. Twitter lit up over excitement of the news, celebrating four more years of dogs in the white house. And some even noticed canine sounds of approval as biden signed an executive order in the oval office. [ barking ] such very good boys i am a nonpartisan lover of all things dogs, as you guys know. Happy to have them back in the white house. The biden administration, meanwhile, announced yesterday it will speed up efforts to place abolitionist and activist Harriet Tubman on the 20 bill. The Treasury Department is taking steps to resume efforts to put Harriet Tubman on the front of the new 20 notes. Its important that our notes, our money people who dont know what a note is reflect the history and diversity of our country, and Harriet Tubmans image gracing the new 20 note would certainly reflect that. So were exploring ways to speed up that effort. This initiative had been announced in 2016 during the Obama Administration but was delayed through the trump era. And in social medias ongoing efforts to combat the spread of misinformation, twitter announced birdwatch yesterday. Its a new feature that is aimed at trying to do that. The project will be a standalone section of twitter thats only accessible to a small amount of users at first, on a first come, first served basis. The users will be able to flag information on twitter that they believe to be misleading or false and add notes providing contextual information. The hope is to respond quickly when misinformation spreads by providing references from reliable sources. As birdwatch evolves, the Company Plans to make notes visible to all twitter users when something is considered widely inaccurate. The only question i have here is why twitter is not paying people to do this, because theyre basically crowdsourcing it for free when, perhaps, they should be taking some responsibility. Coming up next here, noted bridgegate figure Bridget Kelly is hoping to move on from the scandal to enroll in public office. Shes going to join our conversation, ahead. And as we go to break, lets take a look at this date in history. In 1998, bill clinton forcefully denied having an affair with former white house intern monica lewinsky. I did not have sexual relations with that woman, ms. Lewinsky. I never told anybody to lie, not a single time. Never. These allegations are false, and i need to go back to work for the american people. Ple. R copd. 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Bridget kelly, the former aide to new jersey governor Chris Christie, who is known for the infamous time for some traffic problems in ft. Lee email in the socalled bridgegate scandal, is now seeking the republican nomination for Bergen County clerk. Shes running for office. Her conviction by a jury in 2016 of conspiring to close lanes to the George Washington bridge in order to cause traffic delays in the town of ft. Lee was overturned by the u. S. Supreme court. Kelly has maintained she was unaware the lane closures were part of a political revenge scheme against the towns mayor who refused to endorse christie for reelection. Kelly, apparently now undeterred by the ordeal, told politico, quote, the people who tried to destroy me didnt destroy my love for public office. And Bridget Kelly joins us now. Bridget, good morning. Thank you so much for getting up way too early with us. And i want to get to some of what comes next in just a second, but i do think i need to start by asking, why do you think voters should trust you after what happened with the email . What kind of responsibility do you think you do bear in what happened . Good morning, and thank you so much for having me. I would say this. I think that that email is something ill regret in terms of the choice of words i used for the rest of my life, but the story behind the email and the context of the email is something that im willing to talk about with voters. And i would also say this why cant i run for office . You know, almost everyone else or everyone else from bridgegate my former employer included is on tv every week and no ones asking him these questions. So, im at a point whereby i believe i can serve the public. I did serve the public for 20 years. And the story of bridgegate is greater than that email. So im happy to talk about that along the way. So, you mentioned your former boss, Chris Christie. And i noticed you did an interview with elle magazine, where you said you didnt want Chris Christies endorsement in your run here. Whats your relationship with Chris Christie now, and what do you or dont you want from him in this campaign . So, i do not have a relationship with former governor christie and i dont want anything from him in this campaign. Fair enough. Can we talk more broadly to youre asking voters to trust you here with this campaign, and youve also said that you havent been able to get a job, you havent been able to get anyone else to hire you, so youre asking the voters to do it. Why do you think it is that youve struggled more than, perhaps, some of the men that were involved in this scandal who have gone on to careers, in some cases, in the white house . Right. And thank you for even asking about that. I think its a double standard. You know, all of the boys of bridgegate, those that were involved, have gone on to lucrative careers that are paying them and paying their bills and supporting their families. Unfortunately for me, ive struggled. And ive struggled tremendously. And i dont the only answer is its a double standard. And so, nobody is asking any of those people who were mentioned repeatedly in bridgegate the questions i get asked for taking a step like this or even trying to get any employment. So, its been real difficult. And i, you know, back after the email came out, the Christie Administration did spend 11 million on something called the master report, where they painted me as an emotional female who had her heart broken, and thats why the lane of the bridge the lanes of the bridge were realigned. It was ludicrous and it was a year before the me too movement, and for me, to know that thats what somebody would do to destroy someone else, especially a woman, really, really hit home. I was a professional for 20 years before bridgegate, who enjoyed a very good reputation on both sides of the aisle. So, you know, the only thing i could say is its a double standard and i think its very unfortunate. And do you think it was Chris Christie who left you hanging out there and who did this to you and in, perhaps, a sexist way . I think former governor christie didnt believe that i would pursue this as i did with the truth. And thats unfortunate. But im pretty sure its not just former governor christie. I think that he and his group of my former, you know, coworkers, saw this as an opportunity. The email gave them that opportunity to basically scapegoat me, and ive lived with the nightmare of bridgegate more so than anyone. All right. Republican candidate for Bergen County clerk, Bridget Kelly, thank you for being here this morning. I certainly will be keeping an eye on your race, and thanks for raising some things for all of us to think about this morning. I really appreciate it. Thank you for having me. And earlier on here in the show of course we asked, why are you awake . From lisa. She says, im up way too early feeling thankful for receiving my second moderna dose today. Im proud and grateful to be part of the vaccination effort in my community and hopeful that we are on our way. Lisa, and hopeful we are on our way. You must be so relieved for sending that message out as we grapple with this horrible pandemic. Weve got this adorable photo from lauren who tweeted shes up to take this girl out for a run. Hi there. Very sweet. And rob immediately to say just checking to see if im going to be able to get out in the morning. Big snow in california. That is beautiful. Thank you for being up and watching us today. Coming up on morning joe, senator chris coons will join the conversation. Plus, the latest on vaccine deployment in new jersey with mayor bill de blasio and governor phil murphy. E blasio ad governor phil murphy. The burning. 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Reporter nbc news confirming a whien hand database with 20,000 entries which may have offered important clues about what were chinese were studying was taken down last spring. A senior lab official said it was removed for security reasons. One member of the World Health Organizations team in wuhan said the chinese are supplying them with data not previously made public. Can you trust the chinese data . This is a scientific threat admittedly with a lot of politics and blame game. But its the science that lead here. And the data dont lie. Reporter but senior chinese virologists are suggesting the virus originated outside china, including the top epidemiologist at chinas cdc speaking to Janis Mackey Frayer this month. Do you believe the virus started in wuhan . No. Do you believe it started in china . No. Reporter certainly its too early to reach that conclusion. It is definitely too early to come to a conclusion where this happened, either within or outside china. It comes back to original outbreak in wuhan. Reporter chinas record includes arresting or detaining a dozen whistle blowers for telling the truth about covid. Still the w. H. O. Team in china tells us so far no question is offlimits. Hmm. All right. Our things to nbcs keir simmons for that report. And now looking at axios 1 a. M. Alexei mccammond. The axios 1 big thing, you guys are taking a look at donald trump and our Attention Spans essentially. What are you guys reporting . Well, as we know, donald trump has been removed from every major media platform. The big picture were looking at is the trump show has come to an end. Last week was the First Time Since 2017 when Donald Trump Took Office that he wasnt the top news story or news figure. That is of course because of what i just mentioned with the social media platforms. We have a new administration getting into the groove and introducing themselves to the american people. En Inauguration Day was the marker for our attention expanse changing. He was the top news figure. He was the highest among google searches. Every day since then, he has not been at the top. Well, fascinating numbers there. And also tells you something about just the realities of having power and that the office of the presidency thankful live still seems to have serious meaning, which many of us started to question after the way donald trump treated it four years. Lets talk about how corporations are looking at this change. It happens every time, especially when there is a change in party. There does seem to be a dramatic shift this time. Reporter yeah. Thats right. After he lost reelection in november, a blue chip corporate clients cut ties with firms that tried to monetize. As you mentioned with the change in administration, we see a change in those who have the power and can use that as a way to grab highpaying clients. With a new administration, all that dynamic is changing. We know donald trump wants to find some way to reemerge into the public space and continue on his political agenda in some way. We are seeing this dramatic shift in how clients are trying to remove themselves, separate themselves from trumpism moving forward. Alexi, we saw corporations also pull back in the wake of the in sur recollection at the capitol. How much does the comfort in the wake of that and the horrifying events that resulted in the death of a Capitol Police officer affect how lobbying firms and companies are thinking about dealing with people in the trump orbit . Reporter i think its all connected. We did see a number of Corporate Leaders cut ties with republicans who they felt were responsible for inciting violence. They are kind of going through this identity crisis post donald trump. Whether and how this brand of trump and trumpism is going to be a successful factor for these facts. Its not something they want to put their money behind publicly more privately. All right. Axios alexi mccammond, we really appreciate it. As we wrap up here, i want to take a moment to reflect on it on what i want means, senator rob portman, im sure some of you know. Some of you to not. Someone i covered for many years. A serious legislator who worked with other people on across the aisle on incredible important issues. He said its a hard time to be a public servant. Our government is only as good as the people who are willing to come here and serve us in it. And if we create an atmosphere where good people no longer want to be serving us, we are the ones that are going to suffer. Keep that in mind going forward. Thank you for getting way too early with us on this tuesday morning. Dont go anywhere. Morning joe starts right now. Good morning and welcome to morning joe. It is tuesday, january 26th. Along with joe, willie and me, we have washington anchor for bbc world news america, katty kay joins us this morning. And we have a lot to get to. Lets dive right in. All 100 senators are expected to swear in today as jurors in the second impeachment of donald trump, the trial. The nine House Democrats