holding a weapon i just booked it down the lane, and i slid basically to where the pins are and climed up into the machine and was on top of the machine for about ten minutes until cops got there. i was in there about ten minutes. >> that was a survivor of the deadly shooting last night in maine. it's the latest mass casualty event caused by gun violence to impact our nation. i'm sam stein in for jonathan lemire here on "way too early." it's thursday, october 26th. that's where we begin this morning with at least 15 people dead and up to 50 who may be injured in the community of lewiston. north of portland. 30 miles police say the gunmannted two locations wednesday nig. first was a bowling alley where he fatally shot seven people before moving onto a nearby bar. some of the victims may have been injured in stampedes as crowds raced to escape as the shooting started. officials fear that many teenagers could be among those killed or injured as the bowling alley was hosting its youth night yesterday. police have identified a 40-year-old male as a person of interest in connection to the shootings. he's still at large and armed and dangerous with an ar-style rifle. they've located the car in the neighboring town of lisbon, but he was not in it. residents in the area were ordered to shelter in place. the man was a military firearms instructor with roughly 20 years of experience of military service. they noted that the man, quote, recently reported mental health issues to include hearing voices and threats to shoot-up the national guard base and said he was reported to have been committed to a mental health facility for two weeks this summer and then released. now, the white house says president biden and vice president harris have been briefed on the active situation. biden spoke to maine's governor and the state's congressional representatives last night, he offered the full support of the federal government. in response to the shooting, maine's commissioner of public safety sought to assure the public that they are committed to apprehending the person of interest. >> we have literally hundreds of police officers working around the state of maine to investigate this case, to locate mr. card, who again is a person of interest and a person of interest only. and we'll continue to gather information so we can bring the suspect to justice and ultimately seek prosecution down the road. >> this is obviously incredibly dynamic situation. and to help us unpack it, let's bring in nbc's emma barnett who joins us live from lewiston, maine. emma, thank you for joining us. tell us the latest you're hearing on the ground there. >> reporter: hey there, sam. i drove up from new hampshire last night. i got here at 12:30 a.m., and the scene behind me hasn't changed that much. when i got here just to let you know the bowling alley where the shooting happened is that white building in the background, which when i got here there were only two police cars who were blocking any kind of entrance to get towards the bowling alley. and now there's a barricade that is cones and a police line that you cannot cross. they don't want any locals getting nearby. this is the closest that the media can get. i drove to try go see what the family reunification center was like. media is not allowed in yet, understandably. but the only people i really saw on the road were different news outlets setting up for their live shots to describe the horrific events that happened here yesterday reeng. and that's what the scene looks like here right now. >> emma, what do we know about the status of the manhunt itself? what are law enforcement officials saying? >> there aren't that many new updates. the suspect is still at large. there is still in a shelter in place. i did speak to some people here on the ground who live near lewiston. there was one lady who fell asleep around 3:30 she told me and woke up at midnight to the news of what was happening, and she rushed over here to try and understand the gravity of what happened in her small town, and she described being shocked and devastated and horrified. and this is a small town where things like this are just not supposed to happen. and unfortunately, this town is going to be struck with grief. >> give us quickly a little assessment of what the town is like and how the community's dealing with this in the immediate aftermath. >> reporter: this is my first time in this town, and i've been driving around in the dark trying to get a sense of just that. about 5, 10 minutes from here is bates college. it's a very small town vibe. the liddy i was speaking to earlier tells me she lives 4 miles away but lewiston is the place where she sees her doctor, she gets her food. this is kind of the hub of it all, and people here and within the surrounding communities are truly going to be traumatized. there's only about 37,000 people who live in this area, so it is just absolutely devastating what happened. and i heard earlier on msnbc someone explaining how in this town everyone's going to know someone who knows someone at least who was either killed or injured in this horrific, horrific incident. >> indeed horrific. nbc's emma barnett in lewiston, maine, thank you so much for the update. we'll be coming back to the story throughout the show. president biden has been briefed on the mass shooting and donald trump briefly acknowledged it in a social media post as well. the former president wrote, quote, a terrible situation going on on in maine. it just seems to never end for the usa. a few minutes later trump had moved onto some other topics such as the election of mike johnson to house speaker, another story we'll get into in just a moment. but over the next 20 minutes trump posted two videos one of him golfing and the other at a ufc fight. both were juxtaposed with videos of president biden. trump then posted about his civil fraud trial writing about the judge in the case. new york attorney general letitia james and joining us senior reporter for axios. eugene, we do need to start with this breaking news from maine, another horrific mass shooting. it's becoming or has been quite common as america to do in these events, to wake up to them. we're likely to hear from president biden today. what does he tell the american people that he hasn't said before? what kind of assurances can he provide the public? what do you expect to hear from him? >> you know, sam, i'm not quite sure he'll be able to offer anything new considering this is a situation he's found himself in too many times even before getting to the white house. but i do think he will take the opportunity to, you know, assert himself as the consulter in chief as he has done before. and pretty soon after if not today he'll probably try to speak about the need for mental health care, gun control legislation. we've certainly seen that already coming from some lawmakers and activist organizations. and he will probably try to put forward an argument not today but very soon why he thinks he is the best person to lead a country in a direction that can make these types of incidents less likely. >> and eugene, you and i both know this is going to at some point involve a talk about gun policy in america going forward, and this is coinciding with another very big development obviously on capitol hill where gun policy could be debated. we have a new speaker of the house. after three weeks of dysfunction and chaos, that speaker, mike johnson, will have to weigh in on this at some point. can you talk to me about the situation? what do you expect him to say in how he might address this? >> absolutely. and it'll be an opportunity for mike johnson, a little known lawmaker from louisiana, to give the country a better idea of where he stands on issues outside of the social conservative block he's most well-known for. the reality is he is one of the most conservative lawmakers in congress. he has a record pretty similar to that of jim jordan, a lawmaker that many moderate republicans and republicans in biden districts voted against just last week. and so if you want to know where he is going to look in terms of what he thinks should be done in situations like this, i think that can give you an idea where he stands. i could be wrong on this but not likely based on how he's voted in the past. >> i think it's worth sort of recapping just how chaotic a couple weeks were leading up to his election. we went through four different potential speakers, more senior members of leadership. we ended up with mike johnson, a junior member of leadership. he's never been in a situation like this. he was probably driven to work with 20-year-old staffer or something like that, and left in an armored suv, the second in line to the presidency. talk about how much is on his sold and he has to deal with the situation in lewiston and government shutdown fights and ukraine funding ahead. >> reporter: absolutely. this is a lawmaker who came to capitol hill in 2017. you and i have been covering washington longer than he's been in washington, but he's made himself known to the religious right that pretty much had a significant influence in the gop and certainly years before that because of his work with far-right -- far christian right, should i say, organizations related to abortion, lgbt rights and other socially conservative issues. yes, he has also voted in september against the continuing resolution to keep the government open. he's voted against ukraine aid. and so this is a type of direction we think that the gop will move in now that this trump ally that was able to get everyone onboard, everyone from matt gaetz to republicans in biden districts to back him. and so that should give you an idea of what he is going to do moving forward now that he's in this position. >> all right, senior politics reporter for axios, eugene scott, thank you for handling a number of different topics this morning. really appreciate it. >> and still ahead, we'll have continuing coverage of the mass shootings in maine. but first we're going to bring you some of the other stories making headlines this morning including donald trump's latest temper tantrum during his civil fraud trial and plus the major development in the weeks long auto strikes. those stories and a check on the weather when we come right back. e weheatr when we come right back. my skin has been so much smoother so much more hydrated. it's olay! with olay hyaluronic body wash 95% of women had visibly-better skin. and my skin is so much more moisturized. see the difference with olay. there's challenges, and i love overcoming challenges. ♪ when better money habits® content first started coming out, it expanded what i could do for special olympics athletes with developmental needs. thousands of bank of america employees like scott spend countless hours volunteering to teach people how to reach their financial goals. it felt good. it 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testimony was himself called to take the stand to answer who he was referring to earlier in the day when he said this to reporters. >> because this judge is a very partisan judge, and with a person who's very partisan sitting alongside of him, perhaps even much more partisan than he is. >> now, trump insisted he was talking about michael cohen, but the judge did not believe him. in previous posts and comments trump and his team have repeatedly targeted the judge's law clerk who sits beside him during trial. the judge immediately ordered the fine. after that trump storm out of the courtroom less than an hour later, and nbc news reporters at the trial say trump's departure was so abrupt, it appeared to surprise even his own lawyers and had siz secret service detail running after him. speaking to reporters after court wrapped up yesterday, cohen looked today explain why he lied during his 2018 plea hearing. let's take a look at that. >> when i lied to the judge, something that defense counsel thoughtwise going to be the gotcha moment, i did it because you may recall i was given three days -- 48 hours from a friday evening to a monday morning in order to plead guilty or face an 80-page indictment that would include my wife. >> now, trump for his part continued to rl against his former attorney on social media last night. in a series of posts he seized on cohen's backtracking about whether trump directly told him to inflate his assets calling him a, quote, sleazebag who was totally discredited. in a later post trump falsely claimed that cohen admitted on the witness stand that the former president had, quote, done nothing wrong. the new york fraud case won't be michael cohen's last time cooperating in a trump investigation. nbc news reports that cohen was initially served with a subpoena on sunday to produce documents in the upcoming hush money payments investigation. when he did not respond, cohen was again served on tuesday night. trump was indicted earlier this year on 34 felony counts. prosecutors allege trump falsified business records tied to hush money payments to two women who claimed today have had an affair with him. that includes adult film star stormy daniels. cohen acting then as trump's lawyer allegedly paid daniels $130,000 in 2016. that case is expected to go to trial in march. trump has denied any wrongdoing. cohen's attorney say she will address the subpoena some time in the future and declined nbc news' request for comment last night. that is a lot to unpack. still ahead, auto makers strike a deal with one of the big three auto makers. we'll have the details on that agreement. plus an update on hurricane otis which touched down in new mexico yesterday as a powerful category 5 hurricane. "way too early" will be right back. go 5 hurricane. "way too early" will be right back did it... ♪ centrum silver is now clinically shown to support cognitive health in older adults. it's one more step towards taking charge of your health. so every day, you can say, ♪ youuu did it! ♪ with centrum silver. oh, hello! hi! do you know that every load of laundry could be worth as much as $300? really? and your clothes just keep getting more damaged the more times you wash them. downy protects fibers, doing more than detergent alone. see? this one looks brand new. saves me money? i'm starting to like downy. downy saves loads. (sean) i wish for the amazing new iphone 15 pro! saves m(jason)? i'm startingsean!ike downy. do you mean this one - the one with titanium? switch to verizon, and get iphone 15 pro on them. (sean) wow! (vo) get iphone15 pro, apple tv 4k and 6 months of apple one. all three on us. only on verizon. the united auto workers have reached a tentative labor deal. the agreement subject to approval by union members would include a roughly 25% pay increase over four years, cost of living adjustments, and a right to strikeover plant closures over other enhanced benefits. a deal will still need to be ratified by a simple majority of ford's 57,000 auto workers or unionized workers, i should say. meanwhile the union continues to negotiate with general motors and stellantis which brands include chrysler, jeep, and ram. now to a scary moment at a houston airport where two private jets collided yesterday after the faa says one took off without clearance as the other one was landing. nbc news correspondent tom costello has the details. >> reporter: on the ground at houston's hobby airport, evidence of a very close call. the tail end of a private cessna severely damaged while landing. the faa says it happened when this twin-engine hawker took off without permission, its wing tip striking the cessna in air. radio traffic captured the confusion. >> you guys cleared somebody to take off or land and we put them on departure. >> reporter: fortunately no injuries, but with pieces of both planes littering the runway, hobby closed for eight hours. arriving planes forced to divert to other airports, departing flights delayed or canceled. now an ntsb team is leading the investigation. on twitter writing a hawker airplane was instructed by air-traffic controller to line up on runway 22, but the hawker started a take off role, and its wing collided would the tail of a cessna. the hawker continued its take off but returned and landed. it's the latest in a year of close calls on the nation's runways and in the air. last week over portland an alaska airlines flight aborted its landing in heavy wind and mistakenly turned into the path of a departing sky west flight, only turning away after repeated instructions from controllers. >> that was nbc's tom costello reporting. and i've got to say that pilot was way too calm about his plane getting hit. i would have been pretty livid. meanwhile mexico continues to get pounded this morning. hurricane otis made landfall yesterday as a 165 mile per hour category 5 hurricane. that is the strongest ever to hit mexico's coast and the pacific. michelle grossman for an update. what can you tell us? >> this is one for the history books. it was a tropical storm 24 hours before it exploded into a cat 5 storm unexpectedly. it went over 90 degree waters typical for this time of year in that area. we had buildings that were pummelled. remember this is a town of 91 million people. it makes it extremely dangerous. it's not built for storms like this. we have lightening and continue to still see very heavy rain. roads are cut off, communication is cut off. that is making it particularly difficult because we don't know the extent of damage from just the video we. that will unfold over the next couple of days and have water issues as well. looking at land slides, mud slides, so a very dangerous situation. and really this was a situation that came quickly and again 12 hours had intensify increase. and it went on land right in the downtown. you can see hotels, a lot of homes were damaged at 165 miles per hour. let's take a look what we're looking at right now in terms of otis. it's a remnant low so what's leftover from a storm but still having impacts. we're still concerned about land slides and mud slides as we go throughout the day and also some flooding. as we look into the states, we're looking at a slow moving system. it's been the story all week long the past few days. it's a slow moving cold front, so we have lots of rain ahead of this. flooding rains and portions of of the southern plain, up into the great lakes on the backside of this we could see up to a foot of snow in the northern rockies. looking at temperatures below zero in a lot of spots. back to you. >> winter-like there but paradise in d.c. michelle grossman, thank you so much. appreciate it. still ahead we'll have the latest out of maine where there's a manhunt under way right now for a person of interest in a deadly mass shooting at two different locations. plus an update on the israel-hamas war and the long anticipated ground invasion of gaza. "way too early" will be right back. gaza "way too early" will be right back c'mon, we're right there. c'mon baby. it's the only we need. go, go, go, go! ah! touchdown baby! -touchdown! are your neighbors watching the same game? yeah, my 5g home internet delays the game a bit. but you get used to it. try these. they're noise cancelling earmuffs. i stole them from an airport. it's always something with you, man. great! solid! -greek salad? exactly! don't delay the game with verizon or t-mobile 5g home internet. catch it on the xfinity 10g network. just pray for it the families, pray for the victims. things have got to change. we've got to start doing better. >> that was a member of the maine community where a gunman opened fire last night at two different locations killing at least 15 people. right now a person of interest remains at large. police consider him armed and dangerous. we'll have the very latest straight ahead. but first, overnight israeli defense forces conducted adtargeted raid in northern gaza. officials say soldiers attacked several terrorist infrastructures with anti-tank missiles am. the soliers are now back on israeli soil. the idf posted about the mission on social media writing it was, quote, in preparation for the next stages of combat. the white house is calling for a humanitarian pause in israel's military campaign in an effort to get more aid into gaza. hospitals in the area have warned they'll have to shutdown if fuel and other supplies such as food, water, and medicine are not brought in. the united nations is also warning it'll have to curtail its efforts for palestinian refugees. as of now only a small number of aid trucks have entered gaza. yesterday in a joint address with the australian prime minister, president biden spoke about the war and the need to protect innocent civilians. he also called for a solution. >> i also want to take a moment to look ahead to the future that we seek. israelis and palestinians equally diverse to live side by side in safety, dignity, and peace. there's no going back to the status quo as it stood on october 6th. that means ensuring hamas can no longer terrorize israel and use palestinian civilians as human shields. it also means that when this crisis is over there has to be a vision of what comes next, and in our view it has a be a two-state solution. it means a concentrated effort for all the parties, israelis, palestinians, regional partners, global leaders to put us on a path towards peace. i'm convinced one of the reasons hamas attacked when they did, and i have no proof of this. it's what my instinct tells me, is because of the progress we were making towards reasonable immigration for israel and reasonable immigration overall. and we can't leave that work behind. >> joining us now is my dear friend sabrina siddiqui. your latest piece is about how biden is beginning to look more like a wartime president. tell us about that and how you think he's managing this with obviously some attention being paid towards a diplomatic end game or the need for humanitarian aid in gaza. >> well, i think what's been interesting about watching this crisis unfold in the middle east is it's the second major conflict that the u.s. has played a significant role in, you know, in terms of providing support. of course, when you look at russia's war with ukraine now in its 20th month and the extensive support the biden administration has provided to the ukrainians militarily and financially, and now its steadfast support for israel, and president biden spoke to the nation from the oval office last week, he did look very much like a wartime president. and even though the u.s. is not itself technically at war. i think in some way it's placed much more emphasis on foreign policy for a president who really focused more on domestic economic priorities and had made the economy and his economic agenda or has made the economy and his economic agenda a pillar of his re-election campaign. i think it'll be interesting to see is whether or not there's a sense with the american public while, yes, he may have been handling these foreign challenges well, is it distracting from his domestic agenda. because we've seen in recent years the public has grown more wary in u.s. military conflicts overseas and in general is more unmoved by foreign policy at the polls. just quickly on the point about getting humanitarian aid into gaza, obviously the u.s. is the one that had been requesting israel to delay its ground invasion. part of that is to mobilize defenses for u.s. troops and surrounding countries. it's also to try to get more humanitarian aid into gaza, and so i think that's something that the administration's focused on moving forward. >> yeah, to pick up othen domestic politics angle you talk about, the administration is talking more and more about funding ukraine as a domestic jobs boom. there's the other domestic view here which is does the president's position on israel, his very steadfast support for israel risk his base of support back home where it's much more mixed in terms of opinions about the war? you've reporting on biden and the democratic party over this and specifically i should say a push back against arab, muslim american leaders to biden. >> i think there's bipartisan support for israel in the u.s., but there's frustration among muslim and arab american voters as well as young voters and progressives in this administration utwhat they see giving a green light to this government a green light to the military campaign in gaza. a lot of frustration stemming from how long it took initially for the biden administration to directly inintervene in the humanitarian crisis on the ground in gaza, not criticizing israel's decision to cut off food, water, and electricity to this enclave. and the highest civilian death toll in gaza which president biden cast doubt on yesterday, which i think frustrated a lot of these voters, you know, arab and muslim american communities who wanted to see the president be much more clear about the humanity of the muslim people even as he talks about his support for israel. >> always a pleasure seeing you and thank you very much. still ahead we're taking a look at this morning's business headlines with our friends at cnbc, and we'll get the latest on the markets which are still in the red after yesterday's big sell-off. that's all straight ahead. sell-off that's all straight ahead. there is a better way to manage diabetes. the dexcom g7 continuous glucose monitoring system eliminates painful finger sticks, helps lower a1c, and it's covered by medicare. before using the dexcom g7, i was really frustrated. all of that finger pricking and all that pain, my a1c was still stuck. before dexcom g7, i couldn't enjoy a single meal. i was always trying to outguess my glucose, and it was awful. before dexcom g7, my diabetes was out of control because i was tired, not having the energy to do the things that i wanted to 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(bright music) all right, time now for business, and for that let's bring in cnbc's joumanna bercetche live from london. thank you for joining us. it was a rough one on wall street yesterday, and futures are continuing to lack bad this morning. what happened and what can we expect from the markets today? >> that's right, sam. good morning. yesterday was indeed a heavy day of losses for all the wall street majors. we had the s&p drop 1.4% below a key level, the first time it's reached that level since may. the nasdaq which is a tech heavy index dropped 2.7%. the biggest loser the chip makers and also alphabet, adverse reaction to their earnings announcement from the prior day. that stock ended the session down 9% lower, some concern about the growth of their cloud business. and also meta which even though posted its best quarter in years some reaction as investors are concerned about the outlook there. what didn't help in all this u.s. treasury yields started moving again. 13 basis points higher and 30-year mortgage rates in the u.s. right now hitting 7.9%. all of that is adding to concerns about the macro economy. today we're going to get more earnings. one of them is going to be amazon and investors watching out for that as well. >> 7.9%. those of us that got our 30 years low are feeling pretty good. you mentioned the tech heavy nasdaq. amazon is set to release its report today, but its stocks are already seeing a slump. what are investors actually worried about here? >> that's right. so amazon stock fell with i guess the broader yesterday. many want to get more clues how the cloud business is doing. remember we saw that big negative reaction yesterday with disappointment with their cloud business. aws, microsoft azure the market leaders. any indication how that business is evolving is going to be key for the investment community. investors are also looking for further information on their artificial intelligence strategy and whether or not that's going to pay off in driving extra growth to amazon. and let's not forget their e-commerce business. looking for signs there whether margin pressures are coming through from china and the rising cost of commodities, something we watch out for as well. in general, though, amazon has underperformed all the other mega-tech cap stocks since the second quarter, and they have been on this journey of cost cutting. >> all right, cnbc's joumanna bercetche, thank you so much. live from london, really appreciate it. and still ahead a look at gun safety in the wake of yet another mass shooting in america. congresswoman sharice davids of kansas will join us. "way too early" will be right back. will join us. "way too early" will be right back ♪ my name is josh sanabria and i am the owner at isla veterinary boutique hospital. i was 5...6 years of age and i knew i was going to be a vet. once alexandra called me to let me know that bank of america had approved my loan... it was important to me. we not only just provide the financing piece, we do everything that we can to surround them with the right people. all you need is a perfect, amazing team that will guide you through the right steps to be successful. and that's what bank of america was for me. as the country endures yet another night of mass shootings, fox news poll conducted in april shows that voters are fed up with gun violen, and they want to change. over two-thirds of voters support multiple measures to reduce gun violence including background checks, raising the age to buy a weapon, health checks, and 30-day waiting period. polls also show over 60% of voters support banning assault weapons, while a majority believe there should not be more citizens carrying guns. in addition, a majority of people are concerned that a loved one or themselves will be a victim of gun violence with 59% of parents agreeing. joining us now is democratic congresswoman sharice davids of kansas. congresswoman, thank you for joining us under these very unfortunate circumstances. you represent a red state where many people do own guns. i'm just sort of curious in moments like this when you go back to your constituents and talk to them about situations like you witnessed in maine, what do you hear from them and tell them? >> i -- first of all, this is such a heart breaking situation. and unfortunately, it is too common to have the type of trauma that the folks in maine are living through right now. it's -- it is something that absolutely the folks back home in kansas bring up quite often. in fact, when i launched my campaign to run for this seat in -- in 2018, it was the day after the tragedy in parkland. and i have -- i've heard from young people. i've heard from grandparents. i've heard from folks who are scared to drop their kids off at school every day or scared to go to the mall. and i think you're absolutely right that people are fed up. i think that the poll that you showed actually is quite in line with -- with what i'm hearing from folks. people should not have to live in fear like this every single day. and i was -- you know, i can start off by talking about the safer communities act that we -- that we were able to get passed in the last session of congress. and my hope is that we can continue that bipartisan effort to -- to help save lives because at the end of the day we need a safer -- we need people to feel safe in this country. >> i think -- i think people would not believe how rare it is for a democrat in kansas to talk openly about support for gun safety measures. this is probably something unthinkable two decades ago, but it appears the politics of the issue are changing. but are they, though, right? you have a congress, a house run by republicans who almost certainly will not take up any safety measure in the days ahead. do you have any expectation for more progress on a bipartisan level under a new speaker, mike johnson? >> well, i think it remains to be seen what type of -- what type of speaker he will be. you know, i have, of course, some very serious concerns as many of my colleagues do about about not just his being a fresh member of congress but also being -- being someone who has pushed some pretty extreme policies in his time before he came to congress and in his time in congress, whether that is around, you know, cultural issues. he has supported things like the national abortion ban. he has some very extreme views on the lgbtq plus community. and so i think it remains to be seen where -- where he will -- will go as our speaker. i am, of course, going to to pu efforts where i can. i think that, you know, the people in kansas have been frustrated by this whole process, not just the speaker situation, but wanting to see us make progress on saving lives. >> quickly, if i can, i want to switch a little bit to the foreign policy while we have you. the war between israel and hamas, president biden said yesterday he was going to do everything, quote, everything in his power to protect innocent civilians. how concerned are you about the humanitarian situation in gaza, and, also, how concerned are you about getting an aid package through your chamber that would both tie the israeli aid with the ukrainian aid? >> well, among some of the concerns that i have had about the new speaker, i certainly consider aid to ukraine among those concerns. i know that there are folks who are questioning whether or not the united states should continue to support ukraine. i have supported ukrainian efforts and i continue to support our engagement and involvement in helping our allies. in addition to supporting ukraine, you know, israel is the united states' closest ally in the middle east. we have to make sure that we continue to support israel's right to defend itself and, in addition, i have -- when you bring up the humanitarian concern, i do have to say, i have personally reached out to the state department to ask them to continue to ensure that we are able to get humanitarian aid to the civilians that need it. >> all right. democratic congresswoman sharice davids of kansas, thank you for joining us on this difficult morning. appreciate it. up next, republicans are not being shy about electing congressman mike johnson as house speaker to appease donald trump. we'll explain that. coming up on "morning joe," the latest in lewiston, maine, where at least 15 people are dead after a gunman opened fire at at least two different locations. john kirby will join the conversation. 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ask about the power of 3 with ozempic®. - bye, bye cough. - later chest congestion. hello 12 hours of relief. 12 hours!! not coughing? hashtag still not coughing?! mucinex dm gives you 12 hours of relief from chest congestion and any type of cough, day or night. mucinex dm. it's comeback season. announcer: try tide power pods with 85% more tide in every pod. who needs that much more tide? everyone's gonna need more tide. it's a mess out there. that's why there's 85% more tide in every power pod. -see? -ah. president biden called the new speaker yesterday offering his congratulations. the president says he looks forward to working together with speaker mike johnson to find common group on behalf of the american people. ahead of yesterday's vote, democratic caucus chair pete aguilar of california called out johnson for his previous efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. >> this has been about one thing. this has been about who can appease donald trump. house republicans who put their names behind someone who has been called the most important architect of the electoral college objections. he spearheaded -- it's fair. we know how you feel. you made that clear. >> all right. what a moment. joining us now, communication strategist, former aide to house speakers paul ryan and john boehner, brendan buck. what an honor to have you here. msnbc analyst, as well. congressman mike johnson is able to win the speakership, when higher profile candidates were not and, frankly, were embarrassed in the process. why did he win? was his lack of experience an attribute in the end? >> it sure feels like it. obviously, the people who failed developed a lot of enemies. simply by having served only 3 1/2 terms, you hadn't done that. i think he introduced himself quite well yesterday in his speech that he gave after he got the gavel. he came across as certainly very conservative but also very nice. i feel like that is ultimately what sealed it for him. he has relationships. he has played that inside game quite well. we saw jim jordan play an outside game, using the media and outside allies and trying to hammer members, and that blew up on him. mike johnson seems like a nice guy, and people think they can get along with him. at this point, after three weeks, that, i guess, was enough. >> people were exhausted. let's be honest. in your latest piece for "politico," you talked about the steep learning curve that johnson faces. you also made the case that majority leader steve scalise could be the big winner in terms of actual institutional power. explain that a little bit. >> yeah, look, i was working for paul ryan when he was drafted into the speakership. folks may recall, he was not gunning for that job and had not been in leadership. when he, who was relatively well experienced at that point, had been on the national stage, share chaired committees, had done big things, even for he, the job was overwhelming at first. for someone like mike johnson who hasn't been around long and hasn't done a whole lot, the job will be head spinning. there's so much he doesn't know that he doesn't know. there's going to be a void there. somebody is going to have to fill it. the house doesn't operate on its own. there's a lot of very pressing items. steve scalise will have an opportunity, having the institutional knowledge, to boot the process along, if he is willing to use that power. >> give us an example of the things he doesn't know he doesn't know and the things that will trip him up that may not seem materially important to the viewers but really do matter for a speaker. >> yeah, there are two words that dominate life for the speaker. member management. it is such, in some ways, a small institution, where each and every member has their own little priorities, their own problems, own rivalries. you have to know all of the things that make them tick and keep them happy. the key to keeping the speakership is keeping the members happy, busy, and focused. if you are not in top of the leadership and tending to what all the members' problems are and what they're asking for, you have no idea. you have no idea what people's sensitivities are. figuring out, for example, if you give one member a bill on the floor and another member has made that a priority, then you made an enemy of that member that didn't get the bill on the floor. little things like that that you have to navigate every day. every day is a land mine. it's about getting through detours, getting yourself out of cul-de-sacs, and having the experience to know what's what and what the background and history of it is really, really important. >> sounds like a really fun job. totally easy-going pace of work, too. all right. communications strategist and former aide to house speakers paul ryan and john boehner, brendan buck, honor and a pleasure. thank you very much. thank you for getting up "way too early" with us on this thursday morning. "morning joe" starts right about now. all right. good morning and welcome to "morning joe." it is thursday, october 26th. we have a lot to get to this morning with the deadliest mass shooting so far this year in america. it happened at two locations last night in lewiston, maine. we will have a live report from there in a moment. plus, republicans finally have elected a new speaker of the house after