the top stories. donald trump got out there and threw a temper tantrum. [applause] he pitched a fifth, he was insulting and doing what he does. but i know that is what he does when he is insecure. when he is threatened. and he should feel threatened, without a doubt. it also goes back to why i continued to push for mental competency test for anyone over the age of 75. [applause] but so he got upset and he said he would take one, and challenge me to one and he would beat me. maybe he would, maybe he wouldn t. but what i said is, if that is the case, get on a debate stage and let s go. [applause] bring it donald show me what you got. reporter: why is donald trump scared? he s petrified, to get on a debate stage with a woman. he looks down on women so much. i don t understand, if she what did he say she is stupid, she is this and that. if that is the case, is it because he is old and he thinks he is old and he thinks that he s losing his mind, he s afraid he s going
with us on this thursday morning. morning joe starts right now. as you know, i can t talk about the particulars of this or any other ongoing criminal matter. as i said when i pointed mr. smith, i did so because it underscores the justice department s commitment to both independence and accountability. mr. smith is a veteran career prosecutor. he has assembled a group of experienced and talented prosecutors and agents who share his commitment to integrity and the rule of law. any questions about this matter will have to be answered by their filings in court. attorney general merrick gar garland with brief words for the first time since donald trump s federal indictment. is it just me or, willie, are we starting to see again not a complete breaking of ice but sort of more thawing of ice, mike pence day one, this is horrible. day two, it s bad, but i m going to pardon him. day three, too early to talk about pardons. because you know, the news came out and i m sure mike p
arabia, as i do with mexico, as i do with everybody. you know, they all buy apartments from me. they pay millions and millions of dollars. am i supposed to dislike them? i love them. china. i sell apartments for $50 million, $30 million, $25 million, the cheap ones like $10 million. i don t bother to sign those contracts because those are the cheap ones. but i get it from saudi arabia. i get it from japan. i get it from everybody. i love these people. willie, what do i always say? when he s talking, there s laugh tracks going in the audience, but you can believe him, right? you can always believe trump when he makes a claim like that. yeah, that was almost a decade ago, too. wow. there s some new information we re getting this morning. we ll get into specifics about how much he enjoys those relationships he was bragging about. yeah, there is a new report that finds those payments continued during his years in the white house. we ll talk about that. good morning. w
from actual voters and caucusgoers instead of faceless polling percentages. what will they say and how much say will they have? there s so much swirling around the republican primary this year. so much that could change everything and yet so much that could change nothing. let me explain. the accepted wisdom right now is that donald trump will be the nominee. but what happens if he can t get on the ballot? there are two states, maine and colorado, saying someone who incited an insurrection can t run for federal office. will other states follow? and if they do, will the supreme court be forced to get involved? there s also the issue of the other legal cases against donald trump. the federal criminal cases. the election interference case is still technically scheduled for march 4th. will it still happen? briefs are due today at the d.c. appeals court where a three-judge panel is going to decide whether donald trump immune from prosecution. if they say no and the case does go to
viewers in the united states and all around the world. ahead on cnn newsroom , outrage across israel after the idf mace takenly kills three hostages. the what the families are saying about the tragedy. plus 17 million americans are under severe weather threat as heavy rain and wind is expected to slam into florida and then up the east coast this weekend. more on the timing of the major storm from the cnn weather center. and tiger woods and his son charlie set too compete at the championship this weekend. andy scholes joins me live to preview the father-son tournament. it is 10:00 a.m. here in london. residents in one neighborhood are being to gather supplies. operations in part of rafah to allow civilians to replenish basic necessities like food and water. in the meantime, the hamas-controlled ministry of health says airstrikes killed at least 14 people. all this coming amid grief and outrage in israel. several dozen protesters marching overnight. the crowd chant ing