i'll be supporting president trump 100%. got a country to save. it's not about word or rhetoric, it's about saving america. >> president donald j. trump is our nominee and will be the 47th president of the united states. >> expectation the state of california will make its voice heard on november 5th, denouncing donald trump and his presidency. >> we have to roll up our sleeves and get the vote out. >> john: we wait to hear the first time on camera since donald trump big super tuesday victories. lots of questions for the white house, including will americans finally see president biden on a debate stage. >> sandra: we are also expecting to hear from mitch mcconnell any moment now, who just today has endorsed donald trump, as republicans are looking to unify the party heading into the general election. >> john: and with that, we kick off our second hour here, i'm john roberts in washington. here we go again, sandra. >> sandra: good to be with you, sandra smith in new york. the latest polling shows biden and trump neck and neck. age issues are dogging president biden but former president trump maybe has a ceiling in his support. >> john: house speaker mike johnson is here to talk about the path forward for the party and how the former president can potentially unite republican voters. >> sandra: looking forward to that. alex hoff in washington, who do voters see as the stronger candidate. >> looks like voters are not necessarily looking at strength of candidate as they are the weakness of the opponent, and right now neither former -- for former president trump or president biden have the 270 electoral votes needed. trump coming in with a slight lead, 251 to 241 at this point. one reason for that, president biden struggling to keep hold of key voter groups. fox news polling shows that 28% of black voters now support trump, that is seven times the number that supported him in february of 2020. president biden also hurting on the issues with heavy disapproval of immigration, inflation, the israel-hamas war, the chee, china and his vice president. and consider his age is a voter concern he simply cannot change. overall, both candidates, they are lacking enthusiasm. fox polling showing 72% of americans are dissatisfied with how things are going. six in ten find trump and biden unfavorable and a major wildcard lingering, 18% of voters say that they support a third party candidate. so don't know where they are going to go. let's look at the fox news power rankings forecast map. eight battleground states in the rankings, arizona, nevada, pennsylvania and wisconsin, considered fiercely competitive. arizona showcases a good example as to why it's a border state so the border crisis could favor former president trump there at the same time, though, pro choice advocates are looking to place abortion rights measure on the ballot, a lot at play. a lot could change. >> john: for more on this, bring in house speaker mike johnson from the great state of louisiana. thanks for being with us. appreciate it. >> great to be with you. >> john: now that trump is the presumptive nominee after a big super tuesday win, my question is how do you plan to deploy him for house races and congressional races in 2022. he went 199-34, competitive races more along the lines of 46-33. and nikki haley has demonstrated that there's a pretty big split in the republican party. how do you bring that split together and how big are trump's coat tails this year? >> well, his coat tails are humongous. we have been working with the president. he knows how important it will be when he wins re-election to have a large house majority for the republican party and i believe we can deliver on that. we are thrilled he's the nominee. it's not unusual after a tough primary season to have some unifying to do in the party but he will do that and i think one of the great unifiers, and a huge effect not only in his victory for the oval office but the races down the ballot and the house races are very, very important in this cycle for all the reasons we know. >> sandra: mr. speaker, great to have you here today. sandra in new york. look at the latest power rankings on the depressed electorate, 72% dissatisfied with how things are going. six in ten view biden and trump unfavorably. 18% support a named third candidate. why do you think people are not jazzed to see this match-up again? >> well, listen, some people don't like the idea of a rematch. but i think as the election draws closer you are going to see a contrast between the two policies. these are not just personalities we are voting on, they are sets of policy choices and joe biden and his administration have gotten us into what we are in right now. and everybody knows it. he's going to try to convince the american people the state of the union is strong and we are on the right track, everybody knows that's not true. the state of union is in decline. talk about our safety, security, sovereignty, economy, everybody metric and everybody knows it. i think what you are going to see as you go through the election cycle is the stark contrast between two competing visions, who we are as a country and get back to the strength. the strength we had during the trump administration after the first two years, the greatest economy in the history of the world we can achieve that again but have to make the right policies and elect the right people to enact the policies. >> john: mr. speaker, this minibus spending bill that may be up for a vote tomorrow, you are getting the same blow back from your conservative caucus that kevin mccarthy was getting, but they say you are giving up conservative principles. and like john boehner cutting deals with democrats to get things past. leadership tougher than membership? >> being a leader is hard. one of the reasons for that, we have divided as a matter of fact. two-vote majority so i am a rock rip conservative, my background, where i come from, my philosophy. we are never going to compromise core principles but the reality of divided government is you have to build consensus and only two votes to spare you are not going to get everything you want. all of my conservative colleagues, my closest friends here, they understand the reality of that. we are moving an aircraft carrier, turning it in the way washington works with regard to budgeting and spending and takes a while to build back muscle memory. we got cuts to the agencies, some of them the worst offenders in going after the people they are supposed to protect and serve and a lot to champion here. so, i think it's going to pass and we have the next set of appropriations bills by the end of the month, we'll get that job done and move forward to the next fiscal year to enact more reforms we all care about. >> sandra: a lot to keep track of and dig into there. i want to circle back what we heard from the former president last night. you have this huge task of rallying your party and rallying that support and the former president as he is the presumptive nominee. some of his words last night in his victory speech. >> great republican party with tremendous talent and we want to have unity and we are going to have unity. and it's going to happen very quickly and i have been saying lately success will bring unity to our country. >> sandra: so, going back to that initial question, can i just dig in more, speaker. you know, when you look at those supporting nikki haley and she was able to rally a lot of the nonmaga contingent all over the country, and they -- and many of them in our fox news voter analysis said they would never vote for donald trump, and the job of the republican party is going to try to woo them and bring the enthusiasm and get them out to the polls. when it comes to college voters, suburban voters, the nonmaga voters, what's the specific strategy to reach out to them in the next few months? >> the strategy is to share the truth, talk about our principles, our policies. when you talk about any issue these people are concerned about, every american is concerned about, it's the open border, it's crime, it's inflation and the cost of living. energy independence. all the issues where republicans have the right answers and you've seen what the democrats have delivered in these areas. look, i've been to i think almost 22 states or something since i've been speaker. i go and the country to campaign with my colleagues, and our challengers that the seats i believe we are going to flip. and no matter where i am in the country, sandra, it's the same message. people are upset, they are concerned, worried about the safety and security of their children and their future and the economy and the way they are having to struggle. everybody feels that. it doesn't matter what they message, what president biden tries to say tomorrow night in the state of the union speech, people feel it themselves and i think that's going to, and our benefit, i think the republican party is going to do very well in this election cycle. retake the senate and win the white house as well and we'll be able to turn this around. a completely different policy set on all these issues that people care about and voters will choose that vision and not the current one. >> mr. speaker, ask you about state of the union tomorrow night from this perspective. jim banks is demanding that president biden mention the name of laken riley in the state of the union address. he has not mentioned it to date. there's been some effort from congressman collins and congr congressman, and republicans are pushing the laken riley act. you want to get it through quickly. why is it so important? >> it's so important because we have to ensure this cannot happen again. republicans will not stand for the release of dangerous criminals into our xhupts -- communities. laken is just one of innocent american citizens lost their lives and brutally and vitally attacked by illegal criminals roaming our streets because they have allowed them in. laken riley act, what it will do, ensure that i.c.e. has to arrest and detain criminals who are aliens in the country and will deport them back to where they came from, and we are also going to allow the state to sue the federal government for its refusal to enforce federal law. we are doing everything we can as house republicans and republicans in congress to enforce upholding the rule of law and sanity, frankly, about this policy. we have got to secure that border and the president has the authority to do it, john, and he won't. and we are going to be highlighting that here all day tomorrow during the state of the union. >> sandra: real quick, and your guest tomorrow night will be? >> a number of guests. new york police department officers who are brave in the sanctuary city, attacked by violent illegal aliens that are in the country. parents of gold star soldiers who lost their lives after the debacle in afghanistan. we have parents of some children who lost their lives tragically because of illegal aliens in their communities who are committing violent acts and parents of evan gershkovich who has been detained in russia for a year for simply being a member of the free press, a journalist there. highlight the atrocities allowed because we are projecting weakness on the world stage. that's what president biden is exporting around the country, and that makes the whole world a less safe place and i think the american people understand that and it's one of the reasons that president trump is going to do so well in this election. >> john: i believe you also have one hostage held by hamas that's released and families of hostages still being held, including another held. >> and another held 50 days by hamas will be here. >> john: interesting to see. thank you so much for taking time. hope to have you back again. >> sandra: thank you, speaker johnson. >> i live in virginia. immigration was the number one issue, i mean, again, this could change, in virginia. >> well, virginia does have a border with west virginia. [laughter] >> sandra: is the border crisis a laughing matter? the facts on the ground tell a very different story than what those hosts were touting. voters are taking notice. our political panel here to weigh in in just moments. >> john: plus, after blasting greg abbott, it turns out that the biden administration is secretly flying tens of thousands, actually hundreds of thousands of migrants into our country. chad wolf, former acting homeland security secretary with his reaction coming up next. for veteran homeowners, it's easy as 1-2-3. one: call newday and apply. two: take out an average of $70,000. three: pay off your credit cards diabetes can serve up a lot of questions, like... what is your glucose, and can you have more carbs? before you decide... with the freestyle libre 3 system... know your glucose and where it's headed. no fingersticks needed. now the world's smallest and thinnest sensor... sends your glucose levels directly to your smartphone. manage your diabetes with 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time we have heard from him publicly since he officially endorsed former president trump as the nominee. that lunch is still ongoing, so it could be a little while before we see mr. mcconnell. >> sandra: we are going to keep monitoring, and we get news we will bring it to you. biden administration used a controversial parole program to fly tens of thousands of migrants into the u.s. every month. chad wolf is the former acting director in moments, but first, let's learn how the program works. alexis mcadams is in studio with us. where are the migrants flown. >> that's the main question. and they won't say which american airports they were landing at. we know the biden administration has flown, listen to this, more than 350,000 migrants into the u.s. to grant humanitarian parole. customs and border patrol data, from haiti, cuba, venezuela, nicaragua, flown into american through the end of january, part of the parole program which grants two years of humanitarian parole. >> so they know these are the main countries that are coming to our country between the ports of entry. now they are just moving them to try to hide those numbers. that's what this administration does over and over again. >> as illegal crossings continue every single day, cbp refusing to share more details where the migrants were dropped off. agency just denied a request to name the airports where the migrants had arrived, citing security concerns. so, what we do know is the migrants in this special program are able to apply for asylum using a cell phone app. it's called cbp1. they can apply. strict eligibility requirements, we are told, including security vetting and once the two years are up they are supposed to apply for renewal or leave the country. >> i said that must be a mistake, they flew 325,000 migrants, over the borders, into our country. >> so republicans are arguing that the migrants using biden's parole program will end up staying here illegally. several gop states have sued the biden administration over the legality of this program, but we are still waiting on that ruling, sandra. >> sandra: we'll keep watching all of that. thank you. john. >> john: chad wolf, former acting homeland security director. the program paroles in people from haiti, nicaragua, cuba, but idea of secretly flying 350,000 people in the country would not seem to comport with the transparency with which the president announced the program. what's going on, chad? >> yeah, i think that's right. what they are doing through the parole program, giving migrants advance travel authorization. no longer do they have to show up at a port of entry, instead, flown into the united states from originating airports outside of the country. now, this is occurring in '23. you showed the number, 350 to 357,000. at the same time where you have almost two and a half to 3 million migrants coming across the land border as well. and so this is a parole program that is badly abused, unlawful. one of the reasons house republicans impeached secretary mayorkas, over the parole program in the way it's being administered and the most important point, which sandra and others perhaps hit on, these individuals, the 357,000, they are not eligible for asylum. they are not applying for asylum. instead, they are paroled in on two years to get work authorization immediately and then they will fall eventually out of status unless the parole is reupped. so it's a very precarious situation the migrants are placed in as well. >> john: so the destination was some 43 airports, the administration is not going to tell us which u.s. cities those airports were in. the center for immigration studies discovered all of this. here is what they said about it in their report. said while large immigrant receiving cities and media lay blame for the influx on texas governor abbott's bussing program, cbp has withheld from the center and apparently will not disclose the names of the 43 u.s. airports that received 325,000 inadmissible aliens, nor the former airport they depart, the number is bigger than that. but 0 transparency about this. why are they hiding this, chad? >> exactly right. probably the same reason they hid, if you remember in 2022, and 2023, and flying migrants into airports like west chester and others where they were not telling local officials they were dropping off migrants there either, and so it's the same kind of, you know, kind of business as usual from this administration is there's no reason not to identify where those 43 airports are. they should have done it at the time, they should have informed local officials that they are releasing because that's what happens. when these flights land at these airports, they are releasing them into the u.s. communities and free to travel and go wherever they like. they have parole authorization, allows them to do that. so, not disclosing and not telling local officials i think is also very concerning as well. >> john: so the white house and leaders in sanctuary cities have been hammering greg abbott for bussing or flying illegal migrants into their cities. listen to the question that ed lawrence put to karine jean-pierre in july of 2022. >> what's the difference between texas bussing migrants to d.c. and the federal government flying migrants to, say, new york in the middle of the night and other cities? >> it's very different because we are not doing it as using migrants as a political pawn. >> john: there is 0 difference, really. you are moving migrants. the difference is texas and greg abbott are doing this in the light of day with full transparency what's going on. so americans can see via news conference or whatever that people are being bussed or flown into these cities. the federal government is keeping a really tight lid on all of this because they don't want you to know. >> i think that's right. and there are two important points here. the numbers, if you look at the illegal apprehension numbers along the southwest border, sort of the standard that folks look at to see what type of illegal immigration we are seeing, those numbers are no longer that important. look at the nationwide numbers. the individuals flown in are no longer counted in those numbers. and again, the last point i would say is the administration told the american people if they do this parole program, and fly these folks in, that that will somehow reduce the illegal apretensions and it's actually had the opposite effect. >> john: so instead of the 2.4 million figure for last year, up it by 357,000 to more than 2.7 million. appreciate it. sandra. >> sandra: real quick, dip in here to the white house press briefing, karine jean-pierre a few seconds ago was asked about the president's age and re-election bid. she just took a question on the ceasefire and she's answering that now. listen here for a few seconds. >> humanitarian aid into gaza to the palestinian people. and so that is important. that is a first step that we need to get to. the president is going to continue to work on this as he has been for the past several weeks, for the past several months along with his team. so, we are steadfast, focused on that. that is not going to change because there is a state of the union tomorrow. and so the president is going to be optimistic. he is. as it relates to his speech, look, these speeches, all of them, you know, they -- they take massive undertaking, right, they take a lot of work and to actually meet the moment of where we are as a country. and also lay out the future for this country, so not going to get into specifics as to how he's working through that, you'll hear it from him directly, but the president certainly is going to meet the moment where we are as a country, lay out his -- the progress that we have seen, and the last three years and not just that, how do we build on that progress. >> do you happen to know what about the speech writing process this time around the president has found most challenging? >> look, this is his third state of the union address as you know. this is going to be, as you can imagine, a very important -- important -- as he sees it a conversation he'll have with the american people, millions will be watching and it's not just about the elected officials in front of him. and so you know -- i would say this. i would say this is certainly a continuation of those conversations that he has with the american people when he goes out, when he goes out and travels on the road, right. he hears directly from them, he hears what they are dealing with. he deals with what their family is dealing with, and so it's built on that. it's built on those conversations, that experience he has and knowing and having his finger on the pulse certainly about what the american people have been going through these past three years. going to be really mindful, not going to dive into his thought process. i think when he delivers his speech tomorrow night you'll get a good sense of where the president is and how he sees where we are in this country. >> sandra: a little bit of a preview of the president's state of the union address that is happening tomorrow night, john. >> john: all right. and we look forward to the real thing tomorrow evening, full coverage here on fox news. meantime, fear is growing after beijing booster military spending and ditches plans for peace with taiwan. >> the threat white voters, the most racist, anti- -- >> sandra: reaction from a former congressman whose district included those white rural voters. patrick murphy and sean duffy next. the feeling of finding psoriasis can't filter out the real you. so go ahead, live unfiltered with the one and only sotyktu, a once-daily pill for moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, and the chance at clear or almost clear skin. it's like the feeling of finding you're so ready for your close-up. or finding you don't have to hide your skin just your background. once-daily sotyktu was proven 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address. listen in for a couple seconds here. >> to defend his grandparents's homeland as a tank commander in the idf. he's known for seeing the positive of life and people. he should be preparing to attend university in the u.s. and not suffering in the hamas underground tunnel terror maze. we count the days since you were stolen from us. today is day 152. and who would have believed that to this day we have not succeeded in bringing you back. we have been running around all over the world meeting with leaders, pleading with them to do whatever possible to bring you back home, and once again, we are here back in washington. we are running out of words, and running out of strength. at times i wish i could just retire to a place where there's no media, just disappear, until there is finally a breakthrough, until the phone call comes with the news of your release. omar is in our hands, they will say. but i also understand that there is nowhere to escape this nightmare and anywhere, there's no comparing our nightmare to omar's nightmare. >> john: so there is the mother of one of the hostages and again, they will be at the state of the union address tomorrow night in the house chamber for the joint meeting of congress, congressman mike lawler there off to the right-hand side. there will be a number of families there this evening, including the parents of ithe chen, who they have spoken with many times. >> sandra: god bless her. house oversight chairman james comer offering hunter biden to testify, if he chooses to attend, and also extending to devon archer, tony bobulinski. >> as you said, sandra, if he decides to attend, and take him up on this invitation, he would be in the room with tony bobulinski and devon archer, his former business associates. we know hunter biden offered to testify in public back in december when he was invited for a transcribed interview. he did not want it to do it behind the scenes, he wanted in public, he finally gave in and gave the transcribed interview, really a deposition under oath. february 28th just last week and then james comer, oversight chairman after the interview with hunter biden said listen, we want to talk to him again but want the american people to hear what he has to say. abbe lowell, hunter biden's attorney who i reached out, have not heard from him yet today but said this last week, it's telling, the transcripts of witnesses called to date including hunter's makes it obvious that there is nothing left to ask, answer, say or do. ill legitimate inquiry should have ended before their star witness has been lying this. political charade should come to an end. we'll see if he has anything different to say this week. but breaking news, hunter biden asked to testify in public, in a hearing on influence peddling and again, if he chooses to accept, which some would say would probably be unlikely, he would be in the room with tony bobulinski, devon archer and jason galanis as well. >> if you look at some exit polls, i live in virginia. immigration was the number one issue, i mean, again, these could change in virginia. >> virginia does have a border with west virginia. very contested area. >> build a wall. >> like what? >> sandra: several msnbc hosts laughing off voter concerns about immigration. while americans nationwide are feeling the impact of the growing migrant crisis. former democratic pennsylvania congressman patrick murphy and sean duffy. patrick, is that an insult to what is the top issue of so many americans in the primary, states far from the southern border? >> it is an insult. it's a pressing issue, it's a national security issue and issue that everyday americans care about, and we need the folks in washington, d.c. to act on it and that action could be obviously through executive orders and also legislation passed in the senate or something like it. and stop playing politics with this. but we need to get after it, we need to protect our borders and we need to make sure we believe in a rule of law and not just continue with the catch and release program that's been in effect. >> sandra: i can't imagine how people, especially in virginia, dealing with the fact that a venezuelan illegal immigrant is charged with the sexual assault of a minor, a 14-year-old girl in that state. as if the hosts didn't even know that happened. >> no, and listen, i think when they live behind their gated communities they don't really understand how immigration is affecting the average citizen. so they can laugh it off but also they are mocking this they have a border with west virginia. illegal immigration is a national issue. the migrants don't just stay in texas and california and new mexico, they are swamping cities, so of course it is an issue that people care about because it goes to the very sovereignty of who we are as a people. the government has all the tools necessary to enforce the border and said listen, because the immigration is broken i'm not going to enforce the laws we have on the books. like saying the tax code is broken, i'm not going to pay my taxes. it's that stupid. joe biden needs to get his head around the political problem that this is. if he doesn't -- if he doesn't take this seriously and fix it and has hosts like this that support it and laugh on tv about it, he'll have problems beating donald trump, driving a stake not only in 16, but now when it's a bigger issue. >> sandra: a virginia senator says it's no laughing matter, tweeted to say it's insulting to me and all in west virginia is an understatement. not only that, but mocking immigration as a top issue for americans shows how out of touch liberal elites are, said she. and writing about the mystery of white rural rage. it's arguably the single greatest threat facing american democracy, i have no good ideas about how to fight it, he says. this was a conversation on another network, joy reed saying republican voters are only motivated by racial animous. >> don't vote on economics or the benefits from the president. they are increasingly, from the tea party on, voting on race. they are voting on this idea of an invasion of brown people over the border. the idea that they can't get whatever job they want a black person got it, therefore get rid of dei, voting on racial -- >> sandra: wow, patrick. >> listen, there's people on the far left and the far right that are just pissed and don't even want to try to find solutions. i mean, come on. and i know the article in the "new york times," i read it, based on a book that just came out. the book is not worth the paper it's printed on. it is what it is. yet congressman like sean duffy and myself, younger members of congress got things done -- >> sandra: i've got a bit of breaking news, sorry to cut you off. anticipating mitch mcconnell on the hill, he's now talking after endorsing the former president. let's listen. >> and making our best effort to the other six before march 22, that's important to get the government funded and getting it funded in a non-cr way. secondly, speaker recommended junior senator from alabama, katie britt, reply to the president tomorrow night, we think she is particularly effective to make points that many americans are concerned about and we are pretty excited to have her do the response to president biden. >> we are finally, and emphasize finally, turning to the appropriations process around here, the house will send over a minibus that includes six individual appropriation bills and you know, this -- remember, the fiscal year started october 1st, we are well into this fiscal year, and still trying to fund the government. >> sandra: so we are going to continue to monitor this republican news conference, john thune obviously taking to the microphone after mitch mcconnell spoke, after his recent endorsement of the former president, john. >> john: president biden took a direct shot at clarence thomas in the wake of the colorado ruling. kerri urbahn joins us with that and more next. vapes increase cravings - trapping you in an endless craving loop. nicorette reduces cravings until they're gone for good. wanna know how i get this glow?! i get ready with new olay indulgent moisture body wash. it smells amazing and gives my skin over the top moisture! from dull to visibly glowing in 14 days! ♪ see the difference with olay. i'm just -- ok -- >> we are not talking about arguments, talking about his attendance, talk to the campaign. >> the polls concerning the president's age and acuity. do you think that it is going to quiet concerns about the president's age and acuity if he decides not to debate. >> what i can say that, not talking about the debate, that's something for the campaign to speak to, not going to speak about that. to your question about age, i think i sort of answered that. you know, you are going to see the state of the union tomorrow, you are going to hear the president lay out his plans. you are going to hear the president, a president who has had a successful three years of progress, still a lot more work to be done, but a progress, nonetheless, and how he's going to build on that. bless you. -- did you say something? [laughter] some fun here on wednesday afternoon. but he wouldn't have been able to get, all seriousness, you saw the graphics behind me, you saw what the president has been able to do, 14.8 million jobs, unemployment under 4%, continuing to find ways to lower costs. we saw that when he made the announcement on junk fees, you saw what he's been able to do for the american people internationally as well, protecting our national security, being a leader as we are trying to fight a dictator as ukraine is fighting a dictator that is mr. putin, and this is because of the president's leadership. it really is. i mean -- 36 years in the senate, eight years as vice president, that counts for something. that counts for experience. that counts for having these relationships, that counts for knowing how to get things done. and the president wants to build on that, he does. and when people were saying he could not get things done in a bipartisan way, he was able to do that. infrastructure, it was a punch line in the last administration, it was a joke. now we have infrastructure decade. what we have been able to do for our veterans, really help our veterans. think about the chips and science act, bringing home manufacturing. 800,000 jobs have been created. this is what the president has been able to do, and guess what, that's because of his experience. >> so just for clarity, it's possible there will be no joe biden-donald trump debate. >> is that what you are excited about? >> you asked me 3 or 4 different times in different ways. >> how would president biden do in a debate? i'm not asking a question about a specific debate, but how would he do in a debate. it's four years since he's done one. >> you literally saw last year in january 2023 at the late state of the union take on republicans during giving a major speech. he took them on as they were heckling him. he took them on and said he was going to fight for programs, essentially said he was fighting for programs that the american people needed. social security, medicare, medicaid, he stood there and fought for the american people. i mean, that was pretty impressive. some of y'all have reported on that. i'm going to keep going. go ahead, phil, in the back. >> victoria -- >> john: so the press secretary refusing to talk much about the potential of joe biden doing a debate, he has not committed to doing one. but in talking to peter doocy about the debate, pointed out last year's state of the union saying he forcefully made the case for his policies, and the script it was heavily scripted, rehearsed and on a teleprompter in front of him. being there at a live debate is quite a different kettle of fish. >> sandra: absolutely, all right, an interesting exchange and to another live event, the gop presser is still happening on capitol hill. mitch mcconnell may be returning to the microphone. listen here. >> come on, man. because under joe biden, american families can barely afford to keep food on the table, gas tanks full, prices up 18% since he took office. wasteful spending continues. and sadly, under joe biden's weaknesses, our enemies are emboldened, the world is less safe. look back on that horrible afghanistan withdrawal. look at that embarrassing chinese spy balloon that came over my state of montana, over our icbm silos, look at the war in ukraine and the middle east. under joe biden, the state of the union is dire and no amount of sugar coating he'll try tomorrow night can convince the american people otherwise. >> how do you reconcile your trump endorsement with the fact you called him practically immorally responsible for january 6th and that he insulted you and your wife repeatedly. >> february 25, 2021, shortly after the attack on the capitol, i was asked a similar question, and i said i would support the nominee for president even if it were the former president. >> mr. mcconnell, in april of last year you indicated, and did not really directly answer the question, as to whether or not you were comfortable with mr. trump if he was in the middle of criminal trials and indictments, he was the nominee. i presume that means you are comfortable with him. >> i don't have anything to add to what i just said. i said in february of 2021, shortly after the attack on the capitol, that i would support president trump if he were the nominee of our party and he obviously is going to be the nominee of our party. >> leader mcconnell, most of your republican colleagues say you had effective 17 years as republican leader. what do you think about the idea of putting term limits on the republican leader. >> we had term limits now, called elections, and i had a contest myself as leader. i think the conference ought to be able to be free to choose whoever. whether it's an limit on the speaker or other house leaders. that won't be my decision to make but i think totally inappropriate. >> mr. mcconnell, will you endorse a candidate in the leadership race to succeed you? >> no. >> sandra: all right. so that was the gop leadership following the recent endorsement of the former president. he addressed things that he said in the past about the former president and his endorse meant of him. >> john: mcconnell going back chase to say back in february of 2021, not long after the january 6th riot at the capitol, he said he would support the eventual republican nominee in 2024 even if that were president trump. he sticks to his word, which brings up the question of whether nikki haley will stick to her word that she would support the republican nominee. she said that she would last year. now there seems to be -- i don't want to say equivocating but uncertainty there in what she's saying. >> sandra: didn't happen this morning. this just in. the former president is reacting to mitch mcconnell's endorsement. he did so on truth social. thanks, mitch. i look forward to working with you and a republican senate majority to make america great again. >> john: politics about the art of forgiveness, isn't it? >> sandra: exactly. former president trump reacting on a supreme court win. his claim of immunity goes before the justices next month and that adds to his legal drama. in two weeks, we expect to get the ruling in the fani willis case. and the january 6th election case is on hold, but the classified documents case is set to begin in may. that's a lot. joining us now is kerri urbahn, former counselor to bill barr. great to see you. first to the news of the immunity case, the next big test for the supreme court. now we have a date, kerri. >> we do. it will be interesting. the alvin bragg case will be going on at the same time. the president has to make a decision whether he's in person for that or get a break and come to the supreme court. i suspect he will stay in new york. it will be a big day, not just for donald trump but for the american presidency. what they decide in that case will effect the ability and maybe limit the ability of the american presidents to rule long after donald trump wins office if he were to win the election. >> john: so the supreme court on this ruling about colorado said that any effort to disqualify a candidate under the 14th amount rests with congress. jamie raskin took that to heart and started working like a busy beaver on legislation that would disqualify trump under the 14th amendment. that will go nowhere, right? johnson will never bring it to the floor. however, you believe that there could be an effort post election if trump won and democrats were to take back control of congress to try to ex-exclude trump after he wins. >> this is where it gets confusing. the supreme court made clear -- you can read the constitution for yourself and see that congress has the power to undisqualify someone. that's in the place text. you can see it yourself. the question is if they can undisqualify someone, who disqualifies them? one might think it's congress. they have the power to remove a disqualification. that's what is murky. in the briefs filed on this topic, on this case where they said and actually there was a brief filed on behalf of a bunch of republican senators saying that once trump or whomever holds office, it's a different situation as far as what congress can do and not do. the reality is, john, i don't think anyone really knows. >> sandra: byron york had interesting analysis of the democratic panic over what is going down and what may go down before election day. he says the reason for the democratic panic is this: some in the party think sure, president joe biden is weak and his polls are terrible. if he falters, there's lawfare. we have thrown case after case against trump. surely one will work. hopefully those that seek to bring down trump rests with bragg. your response to that, kerri? >> the lawful campaign is a real thing. it's only helped donald trump so far. i want to go back to a section of the supreme court opinion from earlier this week. i think it's not gotten enough attention and it's so important. and the supreme court said this when they spoke in one voice: they said the disruption could nullify the votes of millions and change the election result if section 3 enforcement were attempted after the nation has voted, this is the key sentence. nothing in the constitution requires that we endorse such chaos arriving at any time or different times up to and perhaps beyond the inauguration. the reason i raise that is because yes, was it specific to this decision? yes. are they speaking more broadly? if there's an attempt to overturn the election, it's inevitable. you don't have to be a lawyer or a supreme court scholar or know anything about washington to know chaos will ensue. >> john: i can't imagine the nuclear explosion. >> sandra: thanks for joining us. i'm sandra smith. >> john: i'm john roberts. we will see you again tomorrow to preview the state of the union. 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