Its wednesday, january 30th, and this is now. Joining me today, new york city deputy mayor howard wilson, katrina vanden heuvel, and New York Times reporter david carr is making his debut. Wayne lapierre is testifying before the Senate Judiciary committee as part of a panel that includes mark kelly, husband of gabby giffords. Before testimony began, giffords made a plea for action. Violence is a big problem. Too many children are dying. Be bold, be courageous. Americans are counting on you. Kelly followed, arguing for restrictions on magazine clips, enhanced Mental Health care, and advanced background checks. Were both gun owners, and we take that right and the responsibilities that come with it very seriously, but rights demand responsibility, and this right does not extend to terrorists, it does not extend to criminals, and it does not extend to the mentally ill. While Wayne Lapierre struck a posture less combative than Previous Press conferences, his views remain questionable, calli
Cleveland. Also on our agenda this morning, im with him. This really is all about the person who has the boldest, most fierce vision on the issues facing america. Its a big get for Bernie Sanders. His first endorsement from a sitting United States senator. Oregons jeff merkley. Hes throwing his support behind sanders. The timing on this is important as Hillary Clinton hopes to win new york and put sanders in her Rearview Mirror and unite the party. Heres another sign that democrats just arent ready to end this fight. Rounding out our agenda this morning, the most important number of the day. April is going to be a very bad month for ted cruz. Trumps new convention manager, paul manafert, predicting a bad month for ted cruz. Im going to show you why i think he might have a point on that and why it may be because of this guy, john kasich. All of that, much more ahead this hour, but we are going to begin with donald trump. The republican frontrunner not backing away from his claims that h
Happy just say no sports fans. Lots of stuff, including my conversation with ice cube, race, other kinds of matters. First, the biggest news, someone who was not in the race. Insists that he will never be. House Speaker Paul Ryan held a surprise press conference that he might possibly, just maybe, be a potential white knight running to the rescue should it be deadlocked. Ryans resounding message today, not going to happen. I want to put this to rest once a once and for all. Ive remained neutral. My job is to ensure there is integrity in the process. The rules are followed by the rule book. That means it is not my job to tell delegates what they should do. But ive got a message to relay today. We have too much work do in the house to allow this speculation to swirl, or to have my motivations questioned. So let me be clear. I do not want, nor will i accept the nomination for our party. So let me speak directly to the delegates on this. If no candidate has a majority in the first ballot,
Convention is hoping will be november 8th when the election of Hillary Rodham clinton as the first woman president. President obama is to cap a night of major heavyweight speakers including, in order of appearance, well be looking for Vice President joe biden, former new york mayor Michael Bloomberg, and clintons running mate, senator tim kaine of virginia. President obama is legislated to speak some time after that 10 00 eastern mark. Prime time for him. Make no mistake, the president has a lot riding on this, not just for his party but for himself. His legacy. His last eight years. His pitch for Hillary Clinton is also about preserving just that, his legacy. For more on what the president is expected to say, well begin with our White House Correspondent jim acosta. Jim, how does he walk the line between promoting Hillary Clinton but also defending his eight years . Reporter right. He is the surrogate in chief, no question about it. What youll hear from president obama tonight i think
I have many friends, so many friends, spectacular, spectacular, hardworking people. I have such Great Respect for them, and their strong values of family, faith, and community. That was nice. Oh, wait, here comes the bad cop. We will build a great wall along the southern border. And mexico will pay for the wall. They dont know it yet, but theyre going to pay for it. Well, that was fast. Mexico didnt even get its one phone call. Maybe this is how negotiations work. You say one thing here, another thing there. Its old school autocrat. Visit a country and youre gracious, back home, youre a strongman on steroids. But behind the scenes you offer the mexican president a discount on the wall. But last night, trump opened with the wall that is a stairway to heaven, his big hit. But he cited the awful visa system and talked about expanding i. C. E. We are going to suspend the issuance of visas to any place where adequate screening cannot occur. I call it extreme vetting, right . Extreme vetting