branch to bear on this issue. >> eddie glaude jr., we deeply appreciate you being here today. it was 365 days ago when we saw an attack on the u.s. capitol and the attack of this heart of this nation's democracy, we'll be remembering it all day today on msnbc. thank you for waking up way too early with us, thursday morning, january 6th, "morning joe" starts right now. >> democrats are hopeless, they never voted for anything. not even one vote. we'll try and give our republicans, the weak ones, we'll try to give them the kind of pride and boldness they need to take back our country. let's walk down pennsylvania avenue, i want to thank you all, god bless you and god bless america. >> the president bares responsibility for wednesday's attack on congress by mob rioters. he should have denounced the mob when he saw it unfolding. quell the brewing unrest and ensure president-elect biden is able to successfully bin his term. >> when i talk to president trump, i was the first person to contact him when the riot was going on. he didn't see it. he'll put something out to make sure to stop this. that's what he did. he put a video out later. >> former president trump's role in inspiring the january 6th attack of the capitol. the republicans' repudiation in the after math and how quickly they forgot a few months later. it's thursday, january 6th, with us, we have jonathan lemire and helene cooper and david druker, he's the author of the book "in trump's shadow." >> looking at the imagery, i know we are looking back over the past year and i will tell you my real take away is you have a guy that was born a trust fund baby and inherited $400 million. he lived the life of luxury his entire life and for him lying and spreading lies about voting was all about his pride and also maintaining power but the people in that picture, the people that we have been seeing on a loop for the past year, the people that went up to the capitol are now the people who, you know, they're in jail. they're awaiting trial before federal courts and so many of them are saying the same thing. we did it because that's what president trump wanted us to do. he told us we were saving america. we thought we were saving america. we thought we were patriots. you look at the people respond responsible for this riot. we don't look at the people in the trump's media that fed the lies to these people for six months and a year of a possible stolen election. we don't look at the trust fund baby. the billionaire and the oligarchs who enabled him. >> this is the point you flush out in your new column on "the washington post." you are absolutely right. that point was made in the sound byte we just said. we are at that speech, donald trump says we'll walk down the capitol and i will be there with you. he was not there. he was not at the capitol. he was saying go fight my battle for me and that captures the point you are making he and others made a lot of money off people who have been duped into this lie and many of them are sitting in jail because of them carrying out is order while he sits at mar-a-lago. kevin mccarthy flew to palm beach and ensuring he's still good so they can get that picture up on social media and raising some money. what happened since then you can make the case has been more disturbing which is that so many more people jumped on board and gone along with this lie. helene cooper, you were in washington and you watched this unfold a year ago today. what were your thoughts of these images flood the screen? >> it's so weird thinking about this now a year later when you think about -- i still remember going through that day, january 6th in complete shocked and one of the things i was talking to a friend of mine yesterday is we are talking about everybody begins january sort of the dry january and by january 6th, that whole resolution had collapsed for all of us. it's stunning to think about the capitulation of the republican party. after seeing strong repudiation from so many republicans and republican leaders forced to power in the capitol while this mob went through. lindsey gram is speaking up against the mob. and he was being mobbed by supporters of trump's as he left the airport were left angry at him. how quickly all these dominos felt president trump soon to be ex president trump calling him back to heal and now he has a stronger grip of the republican party than he did then. it's kind of amazing to watch. you saw ten republicans who voted in the house for him to be impeached and those republicans have been completely ostricized by the party. liz cheney who's the opponent, she's part of the back benchers who are standing isolated by the party and one of the lone voices along with adam kinzinger who are sort of standing out and calling protecting and backing the constitution against their own party so it's been -- it's watching as the party leaders have isolated the handful of republicans who continued to call out president trump has been sort of sad to watch. it's a little bit sad to watch this completely capitulation of the grand old party. >> president biden and vice president harris will visit the capitol this morning and speak from the hall. nancy pelosi will hold a moment of silence on the house's floor. lawmakers will be sharing their stories and thoughts throughout the day and later this evening a prayer vigil will be held on the capitol steps. it's all to mark one year since a group of donald trump's loyalists incited by the former president himself stormed the u.s. capitol as lawmakers were inside counting the votes to certify joe biden's election as president. tens of thousands of trump's supporters plan to be in washington that day summoned by donald trump. he add been promoting a so-called stop the steal rally in the days leading up to the attack, telling his supporters, see you in d.c. trump repeated his bogus claim of a stolen election, said, "republicans need to fight" and urged mike pence to come through for us and he included this call in action. we'll walk down and i will be there with you. we'll walk down anyone you want but i think right here to the capitol and we'll cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women and we'll probably not cheering so much for some of them. you will never take back our country with weakness, you have to show strength and strong. >> less than an hour, the president's followers breached the united states' capitol. they continued to reach barriers and reaching the side and having smashing windows on the south side, they were in the united states capitol. officers tried to disperse the mobs but trump's supporters fought back. the house of chambers replaced under the lockdown. two hours went by before president trump tweeted for his followers to quote, "go home in peace." seven hours, the capitol was declared secure. an hour later, the house reconvened to certify the election of joe biden with vice president mike pence presiding. the attack resulted in 704 criminal cases of 160 guilty pleas and 58 people sentenced. four officers died by suicide and one of the president supporters was shot and killed by a capitol police officer. there is a lot of people who tried to minimize what happened saying obsession of the media and democrats. the pictures and the facts and the timeline tell the story and the truth. >> and their own words recently released tell the truth. so many people gaslighting americans and lying to viewers and lying to people who watch them every night. lying to people who depend on them to give them a window into the world. desperately trying to stop the president from talking about stolen elections and desperately trying to stop the event of january 6th. and desperately trying to get the president to stand up and do something instead of cheering on these vicious mobs, these rioters that he pushed up at the capitol steps in the first place and just didn't do it. the lies and the exaggerations and conspiracies have gotten worse. you know i was thinking of what helene cooper said. these republicans have criticized donald trump and what a difficult year it has been. they criticized the mob that were beating as we have seen beating police officers with flag sticks and american flags and trump's flags and anything they could find, kicking cops, blue life matters? not so much to these trump supporters, in fact, not at all if you look at these videos and see what trump had did. they actually chose the truth, the verifiable truth that's been verified time and time again by recounting it. in georgia and arizona and michigan and every one of these states, they chose the truth over conspiracy theories. they supported a peaceful transition over a bloody coup. these members who are in trouble now supported the rule of law instead of the power of the mob. they're the ones that donald trump's republican party pushed to the side, they're the ones that are having to quit congress. they're the ones who are fighting for their political lives because -- my god, they chose sanity over violence. it speaks ill of donald trump's republican party and yet it still is very much donald trump's republican party. >> i will start by saying these images we are seeing now from the capitol don't get any easier or horrifying to see a year later and the big lie about false claims election fraud which fuelled that riot is now a litmus test for the republican party. you could not be more right. his grip on the gop is tighter now than it was then. the night of january 6th, there was a moment, a brief one whether republicans could have walked away from donald trump, those first few days after insurrection. they chose not to. >> they came back. leadership up and down and rank and file up and down. he'll be the 2024 republican nominee if he wants it. that certainly looks to be the case today on this january 6th. this is it is party he has fuelled and republicans have defied him as largely cast out on the verge of doing so. we'll hear from the current president, president biden today after 9:00 speaking at the capitol as to what happened. the white house put out an excerpt. this is a moment we have to decide what kind of nation we'll be, he says are we going to be a nation that lives not by the light of the truth but the shadow of lies? he's going to call out president trump by name. something he's been loathe to do since taken office. he'll put the blame at that riot at his predecessor's feet. >> he's only doing what mccarthy did, what mitch mcconnell did and what lindsey graham did. there is nothing radical. it's like admitting the truth, the sky's blue and the ocean is wet. donald trump responsible for those riots. it's plainly obvious and anybody who says otherwise is just lying. backing the big lie has become a must for those wishing to secure the endorsement of the most powerful man in the gop, donald trump. according to "the washington post" at least 163 republicans who are embraced trump's false claim of the stolen election are now running for statewide offices that would give them authorities over administration of the elections. those running for the house's seats were at least five. the road to reelection is significantly harder for those refused to back the big lie including the 10 house republicans voted to impeach trump in february. liz cheney who now is the vice chair of the house investigation will face at least five primary opponents in this year's midterm elections. the only other republican on the investigative committee, adam kinzinger announced that he would not seek reelection and he'll be our guest this morning. >> david drucker, i think i am probably the minority here. i believe since january 6th happened, it makes life for more difficult. it's seemed and polling seemed to show that it's really exacerbated the problem republicans have had. you need his support during the primary but my gosh, since swing districts and states, it's a devastating label to have if you are a trump's candidate. january 6th made this difficult for republicans and at least to me and a lot of reporters quitely stayed behind the scenes. he makes winning general elections tough. >> right, joe. >> so i think when we look at this, we have to understand the difference between primaries and january general elections and midterm elections. i don't get when you look at the polling leading into the 2022 election where the current president's job of the approval rating and generic ballot that republicans are going to suffer much in the midterm elections. they continue, however, to be nervous of a presidential election in 2024 where donald trump is the nominee because they don't see him able to get past a lot of the problem that caused him reelection and even a biden that may not appear strong as he did in 2020 would be able to turn out voters and force the way he was able to because trump was on the ballot. it's fascinating though when you look at trump and the republicans is an evolution since january 6th and many cases them following the lead of their own voters. we talk a lot about trump having his power over republicans in congress which he does but it stems from republican voters, not trump himself. they are the ones that continue to support trump quite strongly and it's that republicans in congress feared not so much saying no to trump but having their voters upset at them when they say no to trump. and donald trump really followed the lead in some cases of conservative grass root voters. when i interviewed him on may 5th, 2021, he told me he want to head to the capitol with the crowd gathered to hear him speak but the secret service would not allow it. if they had allowed me to be there, i don't think there would have been violence, and he seemed mystified. my supporters support the police he was looking at this and acknowledging there was violence and thinking he could have done something about it and by the time we hit mid summer of 2021, donald trump was talking about the insurrection at the capitol, the riot at the capitol in different terms in terms that really mirrored where his voters and where prominent conservatives ended up on this issue. and so in many ways he's often a match that can in flame things but the kindling is already there. >> willie, when i campaigned, i realized i had to pick out people i have never been in politics before. i had to pick out people who voted in primaries regularly. i would not go knock on the doors of every republican. i would knock on primary voters. it's usually one out of three voters. when you look at primary voters, they're not the majority of republicans in many cases. you are talking about the most extreme and intense and the most hard core base voters. what that used to mean they were for smaller budgets and ballot budgets and stronger military and libertarian/populist government. that has now changed if you look at these numbers, they believe in conspiracy theories, a lot of them believe in qanon theories. a lot of them believe in some of this incredible insanity. even when you look at people like lindsey graham or kevin mccarthy that did not have the courage of conviction to back down because of what the basis saying. all right, they make that decision and their politicians be judged at the polls. so again january the 6th and even the following of these people, the base of the party is a splintering of the party. splitting off and voting off for biden. republicans in other suburbs around philly and republicans around detroit breaking off voting for biden. this is in part because of january the 6th, we talk about those youngkin voters. time and time again they're attacking joe biden for failing as a president but they ask, would you regret your vote and would you vote for donald trump again. every single one of them said no. it goes straight back to january 6th. it's a litmus test. >> he's in my campaign ad and twitter bio. you mentioned the state of georgia, brian kemp had to walk that line. david purdue, i am on the side of donald trump, the election was stolen. brian kemp had to figure out and perhaps stacey abrams there. january 6th is this big lie, we got more evidence that it was in in fact not a lie. >> maricopa department debunked the lie pushed by president trump. we have seen how people reacted and they think the election is stolen and they stormed the u.s. capitol, they threaten to kill and hang and shoot election workers. they call americans traitors. i can't stand for that. president biden won maricopa by 45,000 votes which is key to his victory in 2020. this is the cyber ninja audit and i use this word loosely. the republican election board yesterday released 93 pages that point by point show why joe biden won there. >> yes, helene cooper, what is this? the 30th recount? there is been so many recounts in arizona and georgia and you have that really striking report that came out from the michigan's state senate some time ago. one republican group after another and after another had said this election was fair. and so there are friends who still send me information on e-mail talking about there are some conspiracy theories and what about this -- they all have been disproven by republicans and by republicans of maricopa board and by republicans of the supreme court and republicans by federal benches across america. i am not so sure what other evidence these doubters would need? >> i don't think they want evidence. i think they just want what they want is so -- we have seen the steady progression and i was trying to think about this morning because i agree very much with the narrative that you know a lot of this is the fault of the republican leaders and fox news and for spreading this lie and constantly feeding voters and viewers a steady narrative of things that are simply not true. but there are also a problem of personal responsibility as well. i think that we should also acknowledge the fact that so many of these people choose to go down this path. this is what they want, they want to believe what they want. they become so used to choosing where their facts are going to come from. we started with alternative facts with kellyanne conway and we gone down this road where you can decide what you want to take as facts and you are going to decide what's not. that's what scares me more than anything when we start extrapolating from that and going down the road to where american democracy ends up. if we can't agree on what's true and what's not true, if you are able to decide that that the sky is not blue, it's green, then there is no point. there is no starting basis that we can all start from. when you look at that mob and you look at the crowd of people out there. so many of them and so many of my colleagues who were out on capitol hill who were interviewing this group, all of these people there and you hear what they had to say. it's a completely different reality that they are dwelling in the one that you and i believe and known to be true. it raises so many questions about where the starting point is for us as a country on where the facts lie. >> and by the way, there is alternative reality. is it alternative reality when hillary clinton they believe ran a child exploitation ring, a trial trafficking ring in a basement of a pizza joint in washington, d.c. that does not have a basement or tom hanks and oprah winfrey and other people and democratic leaders run child trafficking rings or believing in jewish lasers in california or what's the italian -- this is not just working class americans. you and i both have friends that are asking us about this italian dude. sure, i would to meet this italian dude who somehow rigged the election with lasers or something. >> the satellite that manipulated the voting machines, otherwise smart people asking me about that last year. you can roll your eyes at it and you can say oh gosh, hillary clinton is not ringing a child trafficking ring until a guy shows up with a semiautomatic rifle showing up and shooting people. >> we'll be joined by jason crowe, a former ranger who was inside the capitol during last year's attack and adam kinzinger, a member of the house-select committee who'll be our guest and the agency is urging the up to date covid shot but won't change the definition. chicago schools cancelled classes for a second day in a row. we'll talk to mayor laura lightfoot. and will djokovic get to play in the u.s. open? there is a fight over that. you are watching "morning joe," we'll be right back. morning joe we'll be right back. ♪ i see trees of green ♪ ♪ red roses too ♪ ♪ i see them bloom for me and you ♪ (music) ♪ so i think to myself ♪ ♪ oh what a wonderful world ♪ superpowers from a spider bite? i could use some help showing the world how liberty mutual customizes their car insurance. ow! i'm ok! only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ only in 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a boufl morning there and things have certainly cleared up where they were a couple of days ago. thank god for the people of d.c. especially. david, you didn't get caught in the snow a couple of days ago, didn't you? many snow storm and we call this flurries. it stopped the traffic here and what's happening here in 95. >> i am curious, you were talking about the republican base and how they're still controlling what politicians in washington do. it's one of the reasons why liz cheney reallystepped out and spoken like a mainstream republican would spoken five or six years ago. what can you tell us? a lot of people coming after and does she stand a chance to get past that primary? >> it's going to be difficult. look, joe, liz cheney is running in a state and it's a state-wide rise because it's an at large house seat voted 70% for trump in two elections. they liked trump. they didn't vote for him because he's a republican. they liked him. when you cross trump does not tend to go well with the base. there are different ways of dealing with this, trump endorsed a legitimate primary challenger, a known figure and not everybody is dropped out of that race, she needs a crowded primary to divide up the vote that's going to be difficult. as i recover republicans that are able to handle being on the opposite side of trump. it never satisfies anybody but it tends to get the job done. you can oppose trump and speak out against trump but you have to sort of pick your battles and not be seen as primarily a trump opponent and i think ben sass in nebs is one way to look at this. he has so much criticism for former president trump, donald trump but able to win reelection. he sort of endorsed by donald trump because he went quiet at the end. the point here is you can look at mitch mcconnell and somebody else although he's recently been on the out with trump. it builds your political image of being around the republican who opposes trump and your primary permission is to hurt the party, that did not go well with republican voters. if you build your image around somebody who's stand up to him who's not going to be a yes man and is going to agree with him on issues but understands why your voters support him and you support his agenda and you make it clear. voters will give you a little bit more leeway. i talked to republican voters who really would have liked his agenda. i am not sure if he's the right guy for us to go forward. i know what the polling looks like, they may be a minority. republican voters will give you leeway. what's tough for liz cheney and a few other republicans, they have been defined as republicans who exist to purge trump from the party and that's a very difficult place to be. >> david drucker, thank you very much. >> coming up, does donald trump's relationships with his supporters threaten to put the u.s. on a road of autocracy. we'll read from some of the op-ed including from former president jimmy carter and mitch mcconnell calling senate democrats "distasteful" for tieing january 6th for the push of vote rights. 'morning joe" is coming right back. 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he's paying for his anti-vaxed belief, is he? >> he makes a ton of money and he's not paid for, he's willing to take that stand and sit it out. he's got nothing in the bank to ride it out. we'll see how it plays out. does the rule change in new york city and can he come back? i won't play at home games. it's the nets who change the position. they're officially strong. we are not going to let you be part time players. we don't want you on the team. they had injuries and covid outbreak there. they had a slump. we'll take kyrie irving and he can play. he had to sit out the next couple of games because they're at home. he won't be able to play in toronto. there is california venue and unclear of what he'll be able to play there as well. mayor adams has said he's not planning to change the rules. we don't expect irving to play. >> still ahead, we continue our coverage marking the one year since the attack on the capitol. congressman jason crowe was inside the house that day. he went back into combat mode had he try to protect fellow lawmakers, it inspires his new piece in "the washington post." we survived january 6th, will our democracy survive too? congressman crowe joins us at the top of the hour. "morning joe" is coming right back. hour. 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done what trump's supporters, republicans would have been right to do so. republicans would have torched any high official who encouraged violence or stood mute and then republicans would have demanded an investigation to find out who was responsible for the violence and would have been all right to do so. to move beyond january 6th, we must put country ahead of party. i have been a republican my entire life karl rove wrote. there could be no sufficient peddling of what happened and no absolution for those who plan to overthrow our democracy. love of country demands nothing less. that's true, patriotism sounds in line of what liz cheney had been saying. that's karl rove and you have an op-ed from somebody on the different side of the isle. >> yes, it's a stern, dark warning. i fear for our democracy. he writes in part this, there are followed a brief hope that the insurrection would shock the nation into addressing the toxic polarization that threatens our democracy. however, one year on promoting the lie of the election party. i now fear that what we have fought so hard to achieve globally the right to free, fair elections unhindered by strong man politicians who are seeking nothing more but to grow more power. we must demand our leaders and candidates uphold the ideas and freedom and adhere to high standards of conduct. our great nation teeters on the brink of a widening abyss. we are losing our precious democracy. americans must set aside differences and work together before it's too late. this is a passionate plea to work out what's happening here. helene cooper especially since republicans don't want to talk about this in its full truth. i read that jimmy carter's op-ed last night as it appears on my phone. i was really struck by it, mika. i come from a country where we know what civil conflict and civil war can lead to and we know how much it can wreck a nation, my own country was completely torn apart by this. when my family moved here to the united states, one of the things i always felt is just this incredible relief to be apart of this enormous american experiment but also to have the freedoms to be able to vote the way i want to say what i think but also to know that there were these institutions that would protect me, that would -- this country is a wonderful marvelous miracle and i was so sad reading carter's op-ed and thinking that we often taken for granted and we often don't see just how fragile and how fragile it's and how fragile our institution is, i don't think our institution is fragile but how fragile our democracy could be. it does seem we are careening this clip. it's frightening. at the end of the day i still think that we hopefully will be okay but i am not sure of it anymore. i don't feel that sense of safety in america that i felt when our family first moved here. >> helene cooper, thank you very much. coming up, the white house says president biden will focus on donald trump when he speaks on the capitol today saying he bears the singular responsibility. that's what happened that day. >> kevin mccarthy thinks that and lindsey graham said it on the senate floor. remember he said that, i am off this train and who else? my gosh, so many other people do as well. mitch mcconnell. yeah, joe biden's saying what republicans said a year ago. >> they won't say again. we'll be right back. we'll be right back. see blood when you brush or floss can be a sign of early gum damage. parodontax active gum repair kills plaque bacteria at the gum line to help keep the gum sealed tight. parodontax active gum repair toothpaste ♪ it wasn't me by shaggy ♪ you're never responsible for unauthorized purchases on your discover card. i recommend nature made vitamins, because i trust their quality. they were the first to be verified by usp, an independent organization that sets strict quality and purity standards. nature made. the #1 pharmacist recommended vitamin and supplement brand. u.s. army veteran and congressman jason crowe of colorado, he served two tours in afghanistan as part of the joint special operation task force and he's here today, one year after the attack on the capitol on january 6th. >> thank you congressman for being here. it's one of those dates at least for most americans, 60% of americans who look back on that day as one of the bleakest and recent american history, i don't want to be mellow-dramatic. i have been around for almost six decades and i can't think about a day worst other than 9/11. so i am just curious as you look back on this day, somebody that was in that chamber, i want to know your thoughts of today and more importantly for all of us who are listening as somebody that seen it and just, you know, from ground zero on january the 6th, what have you learn over the past year about that day? how do you put into perspective for yourself and for your constituents one year later? >> good morning, thank you for having me here, i am still processing as many people went through it. i spent most of my life fighting for this country, advocating for our democracy, upholding our constitution, the first part of my life, i took my oath and became elicited soldier and i took that oath for the first time and swore to protect our democracy and constitution and spent the first half of my life fighting for foreign threats, i would never thought i would spend the next part of my public service advocating and fighting for our domestic threat. we have a rising movement in america. we have to be sober about that and we have to address it with vig or. that's what we'll do. it's an opportunity for america to figure out what has lead us to this point and address to some things that have not been addressed in the hundreds of years of our history and have a new type of americans that i am calming on could make us stronger and bigger going forward. >> i would like to have you ex pound on the opportunity of hope here, i think we all look for that. you do have the washington op-ed, we survived the lock of the january 6th locked in the chamber. will our house survive, too? >> the warped ideas that motivated the insurrection and the unwillingness to accept the results of the election unless your side wins and racially motivated conspiracy theories are growing. we must respond to this threat with strength and unity. this begins with a commitment to a new type of american patriotism, one rooted in a humility and honesty that recognizes our faults. we'll overcome our challenges as a nation only by recognizing the problems of our past and how they shape our future. this requires an unrelenting commitment to the truth. american democracy is not unevidentable. it exists throughout our history. americans have stood up and fought for it. now is our turn. we could have lost it last year. this must be the year that we save it. how does that happen congressman crowe, as long as donald trump is in the picture as a political leader? >> donald trump will remain in the picture. we have to accept that. that is the opportunity for us. the opportunity for us to have this serious conversation to have a new type of american patriotism that's rooted in humility that's rooted in the truth. there is strength of us coming and having an honest conversation and there is forces that's been at work since day one in our country that we never dealt with whether it's poverty or the issues of class and race and it's time for us to have that serious conversation as a nation and get better and no organization why there would be a business or our country ever overcome its challenges by glosing over them or saying they don't exist. i grew up thinking that many of us in american democracy was inevitable and what i have realized that so many other americans in the last few years that our democracy, no documents and no institutions and no tradition self-perpetuate our democracy. it's people that decides to uphold it whether it's poll watchers or election officials or members of congress. that's what this is about. this is as call to action. as poll watchers and local activists around the country to activate and to engage. that's what our piece is about and we'll continue to call on. we have a democracy and action tool kit that we'll release today for us to have concrete things to do to take action in the next year. >> thank god jason crowe was there and thank god captain crowe was there, we look at that photograph that went viral of you at the balcony with congresswoman wild. you know what happened what day, you were there and you helped members of congress to get through. as you said you went through ranger mode, what do you think when you hear people minimize this case, using that day to make it sound worse than it was for political purposes and ratings. you lived it and survived and you know what it was like. what do you think when you hear prominent people including the former president saying it was not so bad. >> hi, willie, it has been a long time since i have been called captain crowe but i will take it, i guess. as many people struggled with the merger of two different parts of my life. i was an army ranger, i served three tours over 100 combat missions. i was doing that work, you have to be in a certain type of mind-set and mental estate to do that. i took off my uniform a long time ago, i became a father and member of congress and i thought that i left that part of my life behind and recovered from a lot of that experience. then it came back rushing back and i had to take my emotions and set them aside and run through those mental checklists that people do in situations like that, trying to figure out how to make it out alive. that's what i did. i am still working through those feelings and the merger of those two aspects of my life. that's what happened, that's what we had to do. i think of those officers as the last thing, let's not forget we had 140 officers who were beaten. one of whom i was close the the last couple of years. he called me the day after this happened and broke down into tears and said, sir, i let you down. i tried to hold back that mob as long as i could, eventually they overwhelmed me and they brutality beat me and all i can think was about you and the members, where are the members and we failed you. i said you didn't fail us, other people failed you. i am proud of you and your work and we are going the seek through accountability and we'll make sure this does not happen again. >> congressman, good morning, thank you for sharing that. we add our thanks to all those police officers at the capitol who kept people safe that day. at the building behind you a couple of hours, the president of the united states will address what happened one year ago, he's going to blame the feet of his predecessor and call him out by name. what do you want to hear from the president at this national moment as he addresses an extremely divided nation. >> i am glad he's going to call out donald trump by name. that's what we need to do. part of seeking the truth is not shying away from it, making sure that we are calling folks out. if they are going to turn their backs on our democracy, if they're going to double down in autocracy, we'll call them out by name. that's going to require personal courage by americans throughout the country. everybody needs to stand up and not shy away from the truth. it's going to be hard and awkward but that's what we need to do. we need to call for action. i talked to folks in my community and a lot of people felt paralyzed. they understand what's happening but they don't know how to respond to it, that's why we have a call to action and volunteer and activate and engage and take action over the next year to reaffirm our democracy and i hope president biden and others join me in joining this movement to say let's stand up and let's stand together and let's defend our democracy in 2022. >> congressman jason crow, thank you very much for joining us with your reflection. we'll return to more reflection, one year after the attack of capitol in just a moment. other headlines this morning, more than 1400 flights cancelled this morning in the united states. more than 1700 flights cancelled yesterday. this continues a trend going back to the holidays as omicron continues to surge globally. "the washington post" reports nearly 20,000 flights have been cancelled since christmas eve. now to philly where eight children and four adults were killed when a fire tore through philadelphia apartment building early yesterday morning. nbc news correspondent, ron allen, has the details. >> reporter: cries for help awaken neighbors at 6:30 a.m. as fire erupted in a neighborhood where a lot of families with children lived. >> i pass by that house for years now. it's sad. >> please all these folks and especially these children this your prayers. losing so many kids is just devastating. >> reporter: investigators say smoke detectors that passed inspection last spring failed to work. the building had two first floor exits and 26 people appeared to be living in the building, the fire started in a second floor kitchen and swept up the building's stairwells. >> that fire was moving. it was feeding on contents and feeding on oxygen and it's feeding on fire. >> that was ron allen reporting from philadelphia. more on covid, some are faulting the cdc for mixed messaging. the agency says being boosted now means you are up to date on covid vaccinations but two doses of pfizer or moderna or one shot of johnson & johnson is still considered vaccinated. get additional doses when they are eligible. the move follows the guidance that uses on other vaccinations. emanuel macron is vowing to make life miserable for the unvaccinated. macron told a french newspaper that he wants to make life difficult for those refused to get the shot by squeezing them out of the country's public spaces. this has the number of covid cases by the omicron variant continues to surge across france. according to a translation by politico, macron said, "the unvaccinated, i really want to piss them off so we are going to continue doing so until the end. that's the strategy." >> that's one way to do it. that works in france but how would it play in peoria? >> that would not work too well. i am not sure how well it will work in france. i think many people can sympathize with the sentiment. everyone had enough time to get vaccinated and those who have been vaccinated should not be paying for people who have not been vaccinated. i am not sure if the president macron's approach is going to convince a lot of people. >> maybe it's lost in translation but that's not the best way to convert people to your side to say i really want to piss you off. much better to do the mandates and where you can do the mandates legally and encourage people that way because that has worked. >> the frustrating thing for those who believe in the vak seens and trust science is there is no converting the anti-vaxed community. there is a belief among scientists experts adhere to facts that the vaccines would save lives and stop this pandemic from spreading. there is a frustration there that should be articulated for those who want to be alive and for their country. >> you don't articulate by saying we really want to piss people off here. i know family members who said they're never going to get the vaccine and delta came along, they got the vaccine. as omicron came along, they got the vaccine. we keep on moving up in the number, we have over 200 million people have been vaccinated. >> but you know just so many people who'll never do it. >> again, it depends on whether you think it's better to troll people who are not getting the vaccines or you want to continue working with people trying to get the vaccine and encouraging them in any way. >> i hear you. it's just and i can understand the frustration while you are trying to keep the population alive and maybe it was not the best way to say it. still ahead on "morning joe," congressman adam kinzinger called the capitol attack a coup attempt. he'll join the conversation ahead plus law enforcement officials say they seen an uptick in calls. what intelligence officials are telling nbc news about that. you are watching "morning joe," we'll be right 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all-night protection. can you imagine 24 hours without heartburn? ♪ i see trees of green ♪ ♪ red roses too ♪ ♪ i see them bloom for me and you ♪ (music) ♪ so i think to myself ♪ ♪ oh what a wonderful world ♪ all january 6th perpetrators at any level accountable under law. we understand that there are questions about how long the investigation will take and about what exactly we are doing. our answer is and we'll continue to be the same answer we would give with respect to any ongoing investigations. as long as it takes and whatever it takes for justice to be done. >> attorney general merrick garland vowed to hold those responsible for last year's insurrection no matter how long it takes. 700 people related to attack with about one-fourth of them pleading guilty. joining us, we have our analyst, claire mckaskill. and national affair analyst, john helman and christina grier joins us, thank you so much all of you for being on this morning. >> claire, as we ask you, you are a former prosecutor and former u.s. senator, just from your reflections on the anniversary of that day. >> what had most of us concerned is we had some where from a third to 40% of americans who have lost all faith if the institutions around the rule of law and elections. that's a dangerous thing to have happen. it happened because of one guy. you had trump's judges all agreed there is no big lie. there is no fraud. you had trump's governors, secretaries of state and trump's legislatures, all agreed after count and recount, investigations there is no fraud. so the idea that he is continuing to push this and people are gravitating towards it show that we really have lost faith in the institutions that made america special. it's worrisome. your previous guest saying he was worried of violence, he was not surprised. he sat there for two hours and refusing to lift a finger to stop it. he not only expected it, he was thrilled that it happened. >> there are some numbers that is caused great concerns among others. two-thirds of trump supporters don't believe that joe biden was the right president that was elected and he was elected illegitimately. those never surprise me because i remember a year after donald trump got elected, hillary clinton's supporters thought the same thing. the only difference is hillary clinton was not driving this and trying to keep people fired up a year later. i did see a poll number this week that really did shake me and that was at 40% of republicans believe that violence against the federal government is legitimate. let me say that again. 40% of americans of republicans, 40% of republicans believe violence against america's government is okay and justified. >> i mean it's something, joe, it's been my concern for the last several years as this growing tolerance for and even embraced appetite for political violence. it's almost entirely for the republican party. 40% of that poll, there is been a bunch of polls that could put number at that level. there were two polls and a couple over the last few months, big large credible polls and you have the cbsu survey that one and five voters want donald trump to try to reinstall himself as president. about 10 million people would be fine to use force to do that, would be supportive of getting joe biden out of the white house and putting donald trump in and using force to do it. i think if you are not scared by that and if you don't think 10 million people out there who would think donald trump should go and take the white house by force. i don't know what planet you would live on and it goes to what claire was saying a couple of seconds ago. it's a large number of people lost faith in our republican system. it's the doing of donald trump. one of the great lessons of january 6th of what happened that day was the most visible out cry of a crisis that's been brewing in the republican party and the fact that it's persistent and has a greater hold in the party than a year ago tells you trump is the symptom of the problem and not the cause. >> the threat of violence and use of fear moved down to the american system as a tactic, as a political tactic, school board meetings and you look at threats against election officials and doctors and nurses over covid and vaccine mandates over the last year, that permeated now, it's way down from the top. you would think january 6th a year ago today would be a water shed moment where a lot of people in this country would say we don't want that enough. this the red line, we need to pull back where we are. just the opposite has happened over the last year. >> absolutely, willie. the day after january 6th, you had people like mitch mcconnell and lindsey graham said that we can't behave like this and a year later they walked it all the way back. republicans have been playing footsies. you remember in 2010, we have this idea that so many republicans feel they should own guns and take force. far too many republican leaders aided and abetted that feeling and i am culminated in january 6th. there is been little repercussions for most of the people who were there. people died, you saw them attacked police officers and we saw confederate flags and we saw people armed to the teeth. all this is deliberate and donald trump is out there and encouraging it. and so we know that this is sadly the beginning especially the poll numbers let us know so many white supremacists are still in this country and in our armed forces and in our police departments and schools and permeated every aspect of society in all 50 states. >> well then to that point and looking into this further, joe, and your latest column four "the washington post" which you can find now. i will read part of it here. those who beat cops with american flags should serve long jail sentences. the most important lesson may come from deconstructing how plutocrats and trust-fund babies pushing mobs on our capitol steps. the authors of these phony crisis sleep comfortably in their marbled mansions and beach side resorts. they are free to travel the world while january 6th defendants begged for their freedom in federal courts. what a dichotomy between these plutocrats and working class populists they duped. we have not inherited the wealth and the power of these american oligarchs. the question is what can we do in the political atmosphere that we have now? >> john, as i was looking back the last year, 20 years of the republican party this century. i realized that again its gotten more populist as far as branding goes. it's been actually policy-wise and targeted to help the richest of the rich. the super rich and the billionaires and the oligarchs and you see the most massive redistribution from working class and middle class americans, those people that we see like mobbing the capitol, they have lost some money and they have gone to the wealthest plutocrats who were pushing up these lies leading up to january 6th. you have trust fund billionaires saying they're coming after you and they're going to get you. black helicopter is coming after you. they're coming after your guns and freedoms and immigrants are coming after your jobs. they're coing after your religious freedom. homosexuals are coming after you. they have been doing it for the past 20 years. they use working class americans who have lost so much over the past 20 years and it's funded by billionaires, media moguls, trust fund babies like donald trump who inherited $400 million and they use these people, not only to run their riots but also to give them the support to pass tax legislation that makes the 400 richest families in america pay about 6.5% in taxes and redistribute all the wealth from this group to the super rich. it's really and just obscene. >> it's staggering, right? one of the reasons why trump is sort of the the man of this marriage. he's the guy with the golden toilet and the fancy fifth avenue address and up on central park with the big view and the guy who said you are fired over and over again got famous by firing people on television, that guy became the aspirational symbol of the working class you are talking about. it's a strange thing in 2016 going around and listening the people say well, i know donald trump has a golden toilet, i know he flies on private jets and i know he eats at restaurants i can't afford and i know he makes all this money, he understands us and he's just like us. i think that's the symbol of what you are talking about, he was, when you think of what happened in four years of trumpism. if you were a billionaire, you did great in those four years. the white working class fuelled by grievance and mostly others. to some extent as you point out cultural liberals and homosexuals and towards others. those people affected by trump got as tax cut. the white grievance mob so to speak that got tapped into got nothing tangible out of it and because they are so rooted in their grievance and people like donald trump are so willing and zestfully willing to give voices in their grievances they were able to exploit it politically. that's why trump symbolizes it so much and it's why it's not going to stop today. if donald trump got hit by a bus tomorrow, this problem would not distinguish in the republican party because the party is built around that transaction and you put your finger on it. >> they use cultural issues to whip up mobs and when they get working class americans and middle class americans on their side, what do they do? they pass tax cuts. they pass tax cuts. the disproportionately help the richest of the rich americans. i am not talking about small business owners, i am not talking about people that make $500,000 in their small business. i am talking about the richest of the rich. the 400 richest families in america. the amount of wealth that has concentrated at the very top of america's economy is staggering. it's the new gilded age and again claire, it's remarkable that somehow democrats keep losing these working class voters and they keep losing them more year by year. just look and i talked about this in my post column, look at who the republicans selected throughout this entire century for their nominees in 2000s. in 2004, they had the son of the president of the united states. in 2008, they had a son of an admiral who ran the united states navy. in 2012, they had the son of the guy no ran an automobile company. in 2016, they had the son of a swamp lord who had a giant new york real estate empire. in 2020, the same. every one of these people are the sons of the most powerful, the sons of the most connected, the sons of trust fund babies, all of them on that list except for john mccain, all of them are trust-fund babies and while all of that is going on and while they're passing tax cuts for the richest of the americans, it's working class americans they are using as their foot soldiers. it's the dichotomy is just dizzy. >> i think your op-ed does a good job of pulling back the curtain and really for a moment making us focus on everyone from the mercers to the murdochs and how they are enabling disinformation and how they enable our ability of the nation as you agree what the facts are. you can't function as a government if people can't agree what the facts are. there are real responsibility at the feet of the mega-wealthy that funded this stuff whether it's murdoch or all of them. the koch brothers have been guilty of not saying stop with this disinformation and stop with the lying. none of them really call out trump for his lies day after day. here is trump figured out. if he had people blaming mexicans and instead of micro chips because of the loss of jobs, he's in the gravy. republicans are going to do what he did. if trump goes away, they'll try to capture that formula to play on cultural grievances, the anger the people have that cannot afford to retire and can't afford to send kids to college. the party is taking care of those folks that never had to worry about anything financially. >> the hustle is now, joe, that the rnc is taking money given by donors like the people you are talking about and paying donald trump's private legal bills. those reported by the new york times, the rnc confirmed that. if you making a small donation to the rnc is going to pay the former president's legal bills in private matters in new york city. >> think about how much money donald has made of spreading the big lies after he lost the election. after republicans lost the white house and lost the senate. after he was a leader of a party who had massive losses over the past four years and yet he's still using this and used january 6th to continue to get money. all of those crazy lawyers, the cracking lady, raised 12 or $13 million? i don't know how much mr. pillow has raised? what about steve bannon? steve bannon got arrested for ripping off trump's donors and they keep going after it. i start this piece by talking about my grand-mom, she loved georgia and jesus and jesus christ was the center of her life. as i was growing up, i heard billy graham crusades going on through her house and georgia and pensacola, florida, i love billy graham and it was comforting and it was wonderful, well, that morphed into the ptl club. it was a money mak making wrath my parents gently try to consider my friends and their loved ones. parents tried to convince my grandma they were interested in her social security checks than her salvation. they could not breakthrough to her. we loved her. she kept watching it and that was her business but there is such a parallel between jim and tammy baker and the ptl club and all these people were preying on people like my grandma and using their love of god as leverage to get rich and gain power. there is such a parallel now between these people and let's just start with donald trump and also media companies that actually used people's love of country as leverage to get their money to get their support and they do it by spreading lies and saying they're coming to get you. the mexicans are coming to get you, the muslims are coming to get you, the gays are coming to get you. nancy pelosi is coming to get you. the fbi is going to kick down your doors and throw you into jail. i mean, willie, it's the same sort of fear tactics and the same lies that jim and tammy fab baker used on my grand-mom. >> the problem is never resolved. i need a few more dollars here, we got to keep fighting because they're coming for you. it's the conspiracy theory. here is the date series, okay, there is a new date down the road, we need your support. you are right, it starts with donald trump but it's cable news hosts and executives that run networks and it's people selling books on tv. they're making money. it's like jim and tammy faye back in the 1980s. coming up, security is a concern on the anniversary of the capitol attack. we'll talk about what's being done. christina grier has some advise for governor mayor adams to be a successful mayor. we'll be back in just a moem. mr we'll be back in just a moem at vanguard, you're more than just an investor, you're an owner with access to financial advice, tools and a personalized plan that helps you build a future for those you love. vanguard. become an owner. i brought in ensure max protein, with thirty grams of protein. those who tried me felt more energy in just two weeks! 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(excited yell) woo-hoo! ensure max protein. with thirty grams of protein, one gram of sugar, and nutrients to support immune health. with voltaren arthritis pain gel. one gram of sugar, my husband's got his moves back. an alternative to pills, voltaren is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory gel for powerful arthritis pain relief. voltaren, the joy of movement. a live look at times square on this thursday morning. christina, your latest op-ed is entitled, fasten your seat belt, eric adams has arrived. i will hold my judgment for mayor adams until he settles for the job. get a speech writer if adams want to be successful. he must be deliberate in his speech and think about how his words affect roughly 9 million new yorkers. get a proper security detail, i would implore adams that he has a new job as mayor. do not reinstate solitary confinement. what is concerning is adam's proposing reinstatement when no one asked for it. do not surround yourself with individuals of questionable characters. there are questions of some of the individuals being considered as leadership positions in adams' circle. okay, christina, if this is you reserving judgment for a later date, i can't wait to hear what happens later. tell us why you are putting down these markers, what are you seeing here that's causing concerns? >> we in week one. this is the most measured passive i know how to be when discussing new york city and politics. i am rooting for eric adams, i think he has a lot of potential. this is the first time since we have seen a democrat turned over power to another. when mayor adams said he was on, he would city would be so safe and i think there's a large part of his identity that is as a new york city police officer where he served for 22-plus years. and he's a dedicated public servant. i won't take that away from him. however, his public safety is of great concern and i worry there's an element of eric adams that still needs to shift his mind-set to recognize that he represents 9 million new yorkers. he made the case in a very crowded primary. he has five boroughs and we need him to focus on not just covid but the economics of the city. it's not just about crime and safety, which obviously i understand is a huge concern for a lot of new yorkers, but if we really are honest about the slight uptick in crime it's in particular neighborhoods that he can hire very qualified people to handle as police commissioners and police chiefs. i want him to have a more 360-degree view of the city and having a speechwriter who will help him not make flippant statements about low-wage workerers and people at dunkin' donuts will help him focus not constantly tweet and go over the things he said. the essence of what he was saying is there. having a good speechwriter would help him zero in and not get distracted. the press corps has been very kind to him the past few days. but that honeymoon period will wear off. i fear his defensiveness might creep in. >> note to mayor adams, christina greer, thank you very much for being on the show this morning. we appreciate it. and coming up, we'll talk to chicago mayor lori light foot, who is accusing leaders of her city's teachers union of politicizing the pandemic as schools remain closed today amid a fight over covid safety. but first, d.c. mayor bows bowser is standing by as today's anniversary of the january 6th attack. johnson & johnson is the world's largest healthcare company. building a future where cancers can be cured. strokes can be reversed. joints can be 3-d printed. and there isn't one definition of what well feels like. there are millions. we're using our world to make your world a world of well. we hit the bike trails every weekend shinges doesn't care. i grow all my own vegetables shingles doesn't care. we've still got the best moves you've ever seen good for you, but shingles doesn't care. because 1 in 3 people will get shingles, you need protection. but, no matter how healthy you feel, 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you can get unlimited data for just $30 per line per month when you get four lines or mix and match data options. available now for comcast business internet customers with no line-activation fees or term contract required. see if you can save by switching today. comcast business. powering possibilities. in the days leading up to the anniversary of the capitol attack, federal law enforcement and intelligence officials have seen an uptick in calls for unspecified acts of violence. a senior intelligence official tells nbc news some of the unspecified threats are directed at lawmakers who voted to certify the 2020 presidential election on the night of january 6 last year. that the january 6th attack was a false flag operation organized by the fbi. other websites associated with foreign governments are amplifying those false narratives. the department of homeland security and fbi have said that they are not aware of a specific credible plot or plan for violence today. joining us now the mayor of washington, dc, muriel bowser. thank you very much for being on the show this morning. can you tell us what is being done to protect the public today in case of any type of violence and also looking back to a year ago where perhaps washington and the city could have done better to protect the capitol? >> well, certainly, mika, our metropolitan police department works hand-in-hand with federal law enforcement and we have been working with them to understand any threats to the district or any threats around the nation. i think one lesson learned from last year was our national intelligence apparatus did not take the threat of white nationalism seriously and did not believe that this domestic threat and people would actually try to take over the capitol with the assistance of the president of the united states. >> that's one. and, also, i think if you could explain to our viewers what happened in the time during the attack where it took so long for more backup to arrive, whether it be from other levels of the government, federal or local, it seemed this dragged out for hours. i think we all agree with that. what was the problem with communication there? >> absolutely. so i think that you recognize that the metropolitan police department, which is our local police, dk dc police, under the control of the dc mayor, answered the call of the capitol police as soon as they called for backup and it was our police that entered the building, came out on that balcony in yellow jackets, and when i saw that i knew they were able to get control of the building and the lawmakers were safe. a lot that has been discussed is why the dc national guard where other guards were delayed in being dispatched to the capitol, and that has been the subject of a year long battle that the city has had with the congress to give the d.c. mayor control of the dc national guard n. fact, the dc national guard would be more properly called the president's guard because we have to go to the department of defense to request the dc national guard. that's another lesson learned that the united states capitol police and the metropolitan police department have to have a more streamlined approach to our guard being deployed in the district. >> especially since the district has places like the white house and the u.s. capitol building which could be targets. so just to be specific, last year in order for the national guard to have been mobilized immediately, who needed to make that phone call? >> the capitol police or us or d.c. could make the call or any other federal agency. and let me be clear, mika, we requested before january 6th the d.c. national guard to be deployed in d.c. and, in fact, they were deployed on d.c. streets upon my request. the united states capitol did not make a similar request. so they were not deployed on the capitol grounds and only the capitol can make that request for their grounds, which leads me to talk about another lesson i think we all learned. immediately after january 6th i called on all events like this at the capitol where you have all of the lawmakers, the vice president, you're talking about certifying a national election, these should be national special security events. similar to how all of the inaugurations are conducted in washington, which means there's one chain of command through the united states secret service. when you have that level of participation from our lawmakers and any threat that that will make it more solid. >> mayor, you have a busy day, your schools are open today. you're taking an approach that requires a negative test for students to come back into the classroom. obviously there's been big debate. in chicago schools are closed. what's is like to get all those tests to all those families? >> it's amazing. i'm proud of our team, homeland security, technology folks, you name it. what it dc we believe in-person learning is best and we'll do everything possible to make that happen. i want to thank our teachers who have worked with us hand-in-hand throughout this pandemic. to make sure we can get back in the classroom. we have our public school system of about 100,000 kids, half of them are in dc public schools and another portion are in our public charter schools. from our dc schools they have uploaded their results, about 9,000 staff have done the same. we have only one school that has to stay in a virtual posture, a few classrooms that have to stay in a virtual posture. tens of thousands will be in school today with their teachers. my daughter just told me she's very excited. >> dc mayor muriel bowser, thank you very much for being on the show this morning. >> thank you. my pleasure. one year ago today senator mitch mcconnell, then majority leader, offered a fierce defense of the democratic process while criticizing fellow republicans for standing in the way of joe biden's rightful certification as president. >> i've sevened 36 years in the senate, this will be the most important vote i've ever cast. features some illegality and irregularity and, of course, that's unacceptable. nowhere near the massive scale, the massive scale that would have tipped the entire election. nor can public doubt alone justify a radical break when the doubt itself was incited without any evidence. the constitution gives us here in congress a limited role. we cannot simply declare ourselves a national board of elections on steroids. the voters, the courts and the states have all spoken. they've all spoken. if we overrule them, it would damage our republic forever. i will not pretend such a vote would be a harmless protest gesture while relying on others to do the right thing. i will vote to respect the people's decision and defend our system of government as we know it. >> a couple months ago i was on the hill, and i was talking to one of the most progressive democrats on the hill who happened to be locked in the room with mitch mcconnell. and this member told me that mcconnell came in enraged. there were many there who talked about the need to break for the night. and this democrat told me, a very progressive democrat told me, that it was mitch mcconnell that said we're going back on that floor. we're going to take that vote, and we're not going to let them think for a second that they have won. this vote will take place today. i was surprised to hear it, and this progressive also told me that it was mcconnell's forcefulness that actually got the democrats and the republicans finally agreeing not to push it off because many people were talking about pushing it off until the next day. i only say that because as we look back on january the 6th, a year later, a lot of people who dislike mitch mcconnell for what he did before january 6th and for what he did after january the 6th. claire mccaskill, january 6th was a pivotal moment in american history, and i just wanted to stop for one moment and look back over the year, regardless of what mitch has done before, regardless of what mitch has done after, and what he did on that day when democracy was on the line, when he spoke up very clearly and demanded everybody get back out and vote on that day. >> if you notice in that speech mitch mcconnell did something frequently that he normally doesn't do when he's speaking on the floor of the senate, and that was he kept looking over at republicans. he was looking over directly at josh holley, directly at ted cruz. he was looking at john kennedy and roger marshall and tuberville and all of the ones who were cowering -- cowering -- at the notion that they would have to stand up for the american people and their decision. and the irony here is mitch mcconnell and the republicans have been monolithic in opposing election reform because they are saying the election reform somehow is usurping election control when members of the republican party took the ultimate step to try to usurp local control. and there is a certain irony that mitch mcconnell was so strong that day but has failed to stand up to reform and make sure that election officials in states are calling it balls and strikes and not subjected to undue political influence which is what some of the laws the state legislatures are passing is going to do. >> and it's interesting he said yesterday he thought the electoral vote act of 1887 needed to be changed and that it needed to make sure congress had more of a -- just more of a rubber stamp sort of role in the entire process, that the vice president should never be in the position of determining whether the votes should be counted or not. and so you look at some of the people on that day that actually made voters come out. it's also interesting, too, as far as mitch mcconnell goes, he, of course, said joe manchin was enraged by this. he opposed a bipartisan bi-cameral january 6th commission and did so because most of the people in his party did, and yet the past couple of weeks he's made it very clear that he wants information to get out on who was responsible for january 6th and actually said, boy, i can't wait to hear what the january 6th committee finds. >> yeah, look, there's both of these things are illustrations of the axiom of mitch mcconnell, what he wants above all and before everything is to maintain his power, his personal power, within that republican caucus. on that day, joe, you're right, on january 6th, mitch mcconnell did not -- he made sure that the senate came back in and he went out there and did not vote to decertify the election, did not try to overturn the election results, and that's a good thing, i suppose. he was not like ted cruz. he was not like josh holley. he was not like some of his colleagues. i think 149 congressional republicans voted to overturn the election. mitch mcconnell wasn't that person. he gave a great floor speech on the impeachment when there was the vote to convict and did not vote to convict him, contradicting the substance of his speech. why did he do that? he hates donald trump. he thinks he's a cancer on the party but knows he can't continue to be the majority leader in the republican party without the support of trumpist voters, so he tries to thread the needle. the same thing is true on voting rights. does he want to change the electoral count act? yes. is that a good idea? yes. has he been leading at the forefront of blocking any kind of further voting rights legislation of getting through the united states senate that would address the things that are going on in the trumpist republican party in states around the country? yes. he's done both those things. and so i think people are right. the only way to properly analyze mcconnell all the time is he's an institutionalist when it serves his purposes. he's a trumpist enabler when it serves his purposes. ultimately mcconnell is always that angel dancing on the head of the pin. he would love donald trump and the trumpists to go away but he's recognizing they're not going away and if he's going to maintain power he has to court them to some degree. we watch him pull off this balancing act every day, 24/7. does he like it? i don't think he does at all. does he do it? yes, he does, every day. >> thank you both for being on this morning. and joining us now republican congressman adam kinzinger of illinois, a member of the select committee investigating the january 6th attack on the capitol. thank you very much for being on this morning. i would first like to begin by asking you your reflections on the day now one year ago. >> i'm disappointed today, i'm sad, and not for the obvious reason because, you know, of january 6th but, first off, it's been a year and it feels like it's been a day but mostly because we haven't made progress, and i'm not talking about the committee. the committee has made progress but i'm talking about as the american people, particularly as republicans, i think we're almost in a worse position than we were the day after january 6th. on january 7th we were -- there was kind of this sense among gop members of congress of silence, let's wait, let's see where this goes. obviously a few people were outspoken pretty incredibly, liz cheney for one. i was trying to be outspoken as well. and then kevin mccarthy went to mar-a-lago and he basically took the paddles out of the ambulance and resurrected donald trump's political life. history books will record the reason donald trump is still a force today, i promise you, is one man, kevin mccarthy, who went down and resurrected him. and so i look back on this day and while january 6th was a terribly tragic day, i think of officer sicknick, his mom, his fiancee, the others who took their life in the wake of this because of the mental toll it took, january 6th was one day. i worry about the rot leading up to it, the rot that has existed since january 6th, and the fact that i don't feel we're any further along in confronting it. >> congressman, it's willie geist. great to have you on the show. you mentioned kevin mccarthy and that's emblematic of the turn people hoped would happen watching this saying this is completely unacceptable. we cannot stand for this. kevin mccarthy said it himself that night. lindsey graham said enough is enough. i'm out. i'm walking away from this. sure enough within two weeks kevin mccarthy was at mar-a-lago assuring donald trump that he was still with him. can you speak to those days after january 6th where you thought maybe this was it, this was the breaking point and what happened to make sure that it wasn't, in fact, donald trump was strengthened by what happened that day? >> yeah. i mean, look, the day after january 6th, there was a group of us talking about the fact that on january 1st, for instance, i was on a conference call talking to all the republican members. i said to kevin mccarthy directly as the first, basically, caller, because we were in virtual at that point, there's going to be violence because we're convincing people the election was stolen. if you're any american that's ever been to school you know that if an election is stolen, you have a responsibility sometimes by force, and we have convinced these people of this and he dismissed it. adam, next caller. the day after january 6th, you go together in the conference room where all the republican members of congress, and it's basically silence, like this shell shock, what is next? waiting for leadership. kevin mccarthy exercised zero leadership. in fact, keep in mind it was two days prior i think he forcefully said he would object to the election even though he initially said he wouldn't, even though he signed things because he was pressured to and he knew it was wrong. i look at that. it's disappointing and it's disappointing to see those who have crawled back into the bunker. adam and liz are taking a whole bunch of shots and we don't want to take those shots. >> congressman kinzinger, it's jonathan lemire. good morning, today on the morning of the anniversary of january 6th. the next steps, in particular talks and reporting there may be prime time hearings in the weeks ahead, and, also, would you, would the committee, subpoena sitting members of congress? >> all good questions. we do intend to do some hearings in prime time and i think what's very important the first kind of six months of committee activity was if you think of what you're seeing as the old iceberg analogy, you will see a little bit, the mark meadows stuff, the bannon stuff. that's a little bit of the number of people we're talking to, it's the same in information gathering we've talked to over 300 witnesses. we want to put a few in front of the american people, though, to show the story, to tell the story. just as important as the comprehensive report is going to be that kind of shows the rot leading up to january 6, stuff on january 6 and after, what's most important is the american people get the truth free of political spin right or left, free of conspiracy and in five or ten years -- i have a son that will be born any day here -- that he, when he goes to school, learns the truth about january 6th and not some twisted version meant to abuse the patriotism of their base. so we do plan to do that. in terms of, you know, subpoenaing members of congress, as you understand, there's a lot of different questions on that in terms of a body of congress subpoenaing a member of congress, but we will unturn every stone and move heaven and earth. we wish they would come and speak to us voluntarily. i'm not holding my breath. >> all right, congressman adam kinzinger, thank you. >> good luck with the baby. >> you bet. thank you. let's bring in associate editor of the washington woes, bob woodward and reporter for "the washington post" bob costa, co-authors of the best-selling book "peril." bob woodward, it is fascinating adam kinzinger was tweeting out on january 5, something bad is happening, something bad is going to happen tomorrow. other members of congress were doing the same. i think the incredible service you all have provided in reporting is showing what happened not on the 6th but what happened on january the 5th. you all have put that together. tell me your thoughts a year later about that day and how that was actually the planning for the chaos we saw a day later. >> well, what we found in our reporting, robert and i, you have to look at what's the rationale trump and his supporters are making? they're saying oh, the election was stolen, and we were able to go back and do reporting in the earlier days of january, and we found, i'm sorry to be a document person here, this is a thick stack of memos that rudy giuliani sent to senator lindsey graham. and if you go through it as lynn si graham counsel did and robert costa and i did, there are preposterous claims in the brazenness of this idea that the election is stolen. for instance, i won't go into too much detail but it's incredible. they say in nevada they have a memo, this is written down by rudy giuliani on january 4th saying 42,000 people voted more than once in nevada. how in the hell do you vote once? do you do it in a precinct, come in early in the day? it just did not happen. we investigated, lindsey graham chief counsel investigated, we found the famous john eastman memo and it claims -- and this is early in january, seven states transmitted dual electedors, totally false, zero evidence. i would ask anyone. we will share our documents with anyone who wants to look at this, trump supporters, lawyers, the january 6 committee, and you will see that the foundation here is bogus. there is no evidence, and we felt it was our job to look very seriously at these claims and they aren't serious. they have been made up out of thin air on january 6th and the days before. >> the maricopa county, arizona, elections came out with a 93-page report saying there was no fraud in their election there as the president has claimed. bob costa, just a few moments ago in an interview on a different network stephanie grisham was working for melania trump on january 6, reported that she saw with her own eyes the president was watching for the white house dining room, quote, gleefully as the events were unfolding. she described rewinding the dvr saying look at all these people fighting for me. you had some reporting again this morning and in your book, of course, about the pressure donald trump that day was putting on mike pence. some of the phone calls he made to mike pence saying you're not going to wimp out, are you? turning up the heat for mike pence to do his part in overturning joe biden's election. >> think about pence on this morning, one year ago. he does not go to the white house. he stays at the naval observatory. his residence, calls in a conservative retired judge. he doesn't even want to go to the white house. he goes straight from home to the capitol. he talks to the president around 10:00 a.m. and says he's not going to budge and trump is extremely unhappy and this scene is witnessed by general keith kellogg, ivanka trump, other trump aides who are watching trump nearly scream in the phone in the oval office and this follows, as joe scarborough mentioned, the fever pitched night of bannon, giuliani at the willard, trump and pence in the oval office one-on-one as intense as it could ever get. >> and, bob woodward, for me the quote of the day on january 6th was the president himself saying i will be there for you as he was guiding everybody to go to the capitol. i know you have had extensive time with him, conversations with him on the covid crisis and how he handles each moment. how clear was it to you when he said that, that he would not be there for his supporters? >> it was not clear. he's a man of impulse, as you and joe know. so don't ever predict what trump is going to do. but this whole thing, and this is why i have some faith and robert costa does in the january 6th committee. they are moving swiftly, talking to lots of people. whether they will find big, new answers, we don't know, but they have got an investigative method which is sound and proven. so let's look at this. what's -- what are the history books going to say? clearly donald trump made a claim the election was stolen. no one ever produced any evidence. there are hundreds and hundreds of names where they say people were felons voting in prison and then you check it out, it did not happen. and the idea this goes way back as we have in our book to steve bannon talking on december 29th, a week before january 6th, to trump and say january 6 will be the day of reckoning. you have to come back interest from mar-a-lago, which is big for trump missing his new year's eve party. trump came back. and we have examples of what trump was saying and doing and the way he was pounding on pence, just saying don't you wish you had the power to win this election? and to pence's credit, he did not. and you two and costa and i know from our reporting, the time i spent last year interviewing trump, he can be very persuasive. he can be very, actually, as my wife says, charming, and then do the most uncharming things. and that's what this is about. it is a crime against the constitution led by trump and lots of his supporters and lots of people in the white house and his inner circle. >> robert costa, it's jonathan lemire. good morning. the former president had announced he was going to have a news conference today on the anniversary of january 6th from mar-a-lago. he has since scuttled that. aides have said in part because he was concerned he wasn't getting enough media attention for it. we know republicans, a lot of them anyway, breathed a sigh of relief. you're as wired in the trump world as anybody. what's your sense of it in terms of the next steps as the nation now focuses again on his words and actions one year ago today? >> my reporting backs up what you've heard from different trump advisers and allies. but, to me, as a reporter, what we found in this book is not so much on social media but the real story right now and why we end the book with the phrase peril remains is what's happening in the states, this pervasive movement. sometimes without fingerprints from trump's involvement. you have steve bannon's podcast rallying people in his wing of the party to have a stake in how the elections are decided to give republican legislatures more of a say come january 2025. when this all comes to a head again, what's interesting about trump now is that out of the white house he does get attention but seeks it with these kind of statements. the real story is the trump movement and how so often the republican party is acting in a trumpian way even if trump himself is not always involved. >> all right. the book is "peril." thank you both for your extensive reporting and for joining thus morning. still ahead, president biden is a short time away from addressing the nation on this one-year anniversary of the insurrection. we'll carry those remarks live on msnbc as they happen. also ahead, classes are canceled in chicago amid a standoff between district officials and the teachers union. we'll talk to mayor lori light foot straight ahead. plus, the cdc approves pfizer boosters for 12 to 15-year-olds. what it means for the fight against the virus next on "morning joe." i hope mike will do the right thing. i hope so. i hope so. because if mike pence does the right thing, we win the election. all vice president pence has to do is send it back to the states to recertify, and we become president and you are the happiest people. with you. try. hope. fail. no one should suffer like that. i started cosentyx®. five years clear. real people with psoriasis look and feel better with cosentyx. don't use if you're allergic to cosentyx. before starting get checked for tuberculosis. an increased risk of infection, some serious and a lowered ability to fight them may occur. tell your 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"morning joe" back in a moment. with voltaren arthritis pain gel. my husband's got his moves back. an alternative to pills, voltaren is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory gel for powerful arthritis pain relief. voltaren, the joy of movement. australian open has not even started yet and one of the biggest players in tennis already is making headlines. nine-time champion novak djokovic had his visa denied for not being vaccinated. >> reporter: still in australia but maybe not for long. tennis ace novak djokovic seen here at the airport in melbourne is now holed up in a quarantine hotel this morning while his lawyers launch an urgent bid to keep him in the country for the australian open less than two weeks away. overnight the australian border force said he failed to provide appropriate evidence to meet the entry requirements and his visa has been subsequently canceled. the 20-time grand slam win earp announced on instagram that he had an exemption permission. australia's leader morrison leaving no doubt where he stands. >> rules are rules. and there are no special cases. rules are rules. >> reporter: rafael nadad wading into the argument telling reporters -- >> if he wanted, he would play here in australia without a problem. >> reporter: fans and supporters have gathered outside djokovic's hotel. >> it's not fair, discriminating against him. >> reporter: djokovic's father saying in a statement he's being held captive by the australian government adding his fans will gather on the street and fight but many australians who have suffered some of the world's strongest covid restrictions are not impressed by his attempt to enter the country. >> i think it's a disgrace. >> i don't agree with there being one rule for one and another for others. >> reporter: at stake, being the men's greatest player in tennis history. djokovic has stumbled recently. he has said he's opposed to getting vaccinated and kept his own status private. >> whether someone wants to get a vaccine or not that's up to them. >> reporter: he tested positive for covid in 2020. coming up next, the mayor of chicago is standing by. lori lightfoot joins our conversation after chicago schools canceled classes for a second day in a row. it's a thirteen-hour flight, that's not a weekend trip. fifteen minutes until we board. oh yeah, we gotta take off. you downloaded the td ameritrade mobile app so you can quickly check the markets? 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>> we have done a tremendous amount put in over $100 million in covid mitigation, hepa filters, partitions, masks, hand sanitizers. every school has a safety committee. we did all of these things and we started school in the midst of the delta surge. we want leadership to come to the table in good faith and forge an agreement. we've been at the table every week since june of last year. this doesn't have anything to do with what we're experiencing in our city. we know from studies, we know from everything else that schools are the safest place for kids to be because of the mitigations and controls that happen during the school day. where we have seen is because of what's happening outside of the classroom. teachers and staff are vaccinated and we're working to get more and more students vaccinated. they have chosen to do this unilateral action that is doing nothing but harming children, harming their families, disrupting our system at a time we need everybody to be unified. we need our kids in school for in-person learning. we know what happens -- go ahead. >> as you state correctly, mayor lightfoot, schools are the safest places we have in our society. it's not march of 2020 when we realized we had to shut down, we didn't have vaccines. and the membership of the union is more than 90% vaccinated. the teachers have all done the rights things, helped to the front of thebeen, they got vaccinated, it's safe for them. so how do you read this action, as you say, kids are being hurt by this, they have to stay home, schools are safe places for them, warm places, places where there is a meal, most importantly places where they learn and grow. how do you read this action from the union? >> well, unfortunately i think the only way to read it is the union trying to politicize the pandemic which is really incredibly sad. >> what does that mean, mayor lightfoot? what do they get out of that? >> what it gets is they get to try to flex their power, but they do it at the expense of our children. they do it at the expense of our families. we know that when we were fully remote previously 100,000 of our kids lost contact and would disengage from the system. we saw in the elementary schools the failure rate during remote learning triple from what it was. we saw the trauma and social emotional harm to students across our system. so this is about politics, it's not about the pandemic, because if it was about the pandemic, we would be working together to get more of our students vaccinated, we would be working together to deal with the testing issues, which we are continuing to work on and we will put more testing and make that available to our families, but fundamentally the absolute wrong thing to do right now is to ban the science and data that tells us unequivocally that our schools in person are the best place for our students to be. so we're drawing a line. enough is enough. i'm tired of the groundhog day appearance of everything that goes on with the chicago teachers union leadership. we need partnership, we don't need conflict right now. >> mayor lightfoot, good morning, it's jonathan lemire. i want to get a quick sense beyond the schools, the state of covid-19 right now in the city of chicago. vaccination mandate coming -- has gone into effect in terms of people needing to prove vaccination to go into restaurants and so on. also, though, we're seeing a surge in hospitals, trailers arriving at hospitals in cook county. how bad right now is omicron in the city of chicago? >> look, there's no question whatsoever we're still on an upward trajectory in the surge of the omicron variant. we follow our hospital numbers very, very closely, multiple times a day. we are okay, but obviously we're concerned, but what we're most concerned about because the people who are occupying those hospital beds in icus, overwhelming people who are dying are the unvaccinated. so in chicago, and it's probably true elsewhere, but certainly in chicago, the answer to almost every single question about the virus is vaccine, vaccine, vaccine. >> mayor lightfoot of chicago, thanks for taking some time with us this morning. we certainly hope those kids get back in schools where they should be. thank you for being with us this morning. we are moments away, as you can see, from president biden's address to the nation on this first anniversary of the january 6th attack on the united states capitol. we will bring that to you in just a moment. stay with us. "morning joe" is coming right back. stay with us "morning joe" is coming right back ♪ ♪ ♪ hey google. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ as america begins to reunite big oil executives saw a chance to make more money. they hiked up gas prices, right before the holiday season. sky-high gas prices for you meant record profits for them. 174 billion dollars. big oil executives took advantage of a recovering nation. just to make more money. it's time to tell big oil executives that their rigged game is over. america: it's time for clean energy. welcome back. live pictures of president joe biden is arriving at the united states capitol, he is going to be addressing the nation momentarily on the one-year anniversary of the january 6th insurrection at the capitol. the attack on the capitol, the attack on our democracy, of our democracy in process. joe biden is expected to talk a lot about the former guy today, about president trump and his responsibility of what happened that day, joe. >> yeah, willie, i don't know how much he's going to talk about donald trump. we know that he's going to at least bring him up, but this is one of those moments where you hope the president -- and i'm sure the president hopes he can speak today on a day that's divided americans and bring the country together. so there's a bit of dialectics having to be practiced here, yes, assign blame where it belongs but at the same time try to bring this country together. >> we do know he's going to evoke the former president's name donald trump at least once, jonathan lemire, but this is a tall task, as joe says, to try to unite the country around an issue that should be clear cut but has not been for the last year for many americans on how terrible that day was. >> the two parties in many ways can't even agree on the same set of facts, they can't use the same terminology, insurrection versus demonstration depending on if you are a democrat or republican. far too many. we do know that he will talk briefly about the need to protect voting rights today, although he's going to save a major speech on that next week in georgia, a battleground state. of course, a key line that white house aides have highlighted for us ahead of his remarks today, he says -- is going to say this, are we going to be a nation that lives not by the light of the truth, but in the shadow of lies. of course, it was the big lie by former president trump that incited the violence at the capitol where the president is now standing one year ago today. >> we now see joe, the president, flanked by chuck schumer and nancy pelosi as he prepares in about three minutes to make this address. >> you know, we have heard a lot over the past year about all of the problems with the republican party and how dangerous things have become. i just -- let's underline, again, we talked about mitch mcconnell earlier, we've talked about republican appointed judges yesterday, again, in maricopa county you had republicans standing up and calling out the lies and the deceit of donald trump about a rigged election. you have had -- that happened in arizona repeatedly, you have had it happen in georgia repeatedly with elected officials who were republicans calling out the lies and the deceit and the conspiracy theories of donald trump. you've seen it happen in the state of georgia, in michigan repeatedly, republicans in the michigan senate called out the lies and the deceit. willie, if we are going to become stronger as a nation in the coming year, it is important that republicans and democrats alike in positions of power stand up, speak truth to power, speak truth to the lies coming from their own side. >> we haven't seen a lot of that. we've seen a handful of them, some of them like adam kinzinger who we had on is leaving the united states congress. it is striking, joe and motor vehicle -- mika that that statuary hall was the site of demonstrators as they walked through statuary hall. >> so today it's all about what happened in that building one year ago today and the president will try and put it into perspective, assign blame where blame is merited, but also hopefully look forward to the future as many have written and we have talked about here on the show today about how we hope we can make our democracy stronger in the next year to come. the president's address to the nation is moments away. stephanie ruhle picks up the coverage right now. ♪♪ good morning. i'm stephanie ruhle, live at msnbc headquarters here in new york city. it is thursday, january 6th, one year to the day since the deadly insurrection on capitol hill. any minute now president biden and vice president harris will be delivering speeches to mark the anniversary. we will go to that live as soon as it begins. it promises to be an emotional and difficult day, not just for the people in washington, but for people across this country. that is because january 6th has clearly become a dividing line, on one side there are those who see it just as part of history, at worst a legitimate protest that got out of hand, but as you can see on your screen, that, of course, is not reality. >> these people showed up armed, they showed up wearing body armor and with helmets on. this is not normal tourist attire. these people showed up with the intent to do something and to me it's impossible to deny that. >> as president biden will discuss this morning january 6th represents an ongoing threat to our democracy. in the year since nearly 20 states have passed laws to restrict voting and in many republican circles trump's big lie about the 2020 election still goes unchallenged. bottom line, january 6 has become a stark testament to the fractured nation we've become and warning sign for what is coming next. with us throughout the hour, nbc's monica alba, she covers the white house, garrett haake on capitol hill, ellison barber outside the capitol, katie benner covers the justice department for "the new york times", phil rucker senior washington correspondent for the "washington post," eugene daniels co-author of the "politico" playbook and peter baker, chief white house correspondent for "the new york times." monica, let's start with the president. how is he going to approach this one? >> he's going to mark, of