Documents. And this isnt a gotcha show, but i want to ask you about youre currently 81 years old. Who told you that. All jokes aside this is real concern for american voters. How do you address that concern as you come up to the 2024 election . Well, a couple things. Number one hes about as old as i am and he cant remember his wifes name. That was President Biden last night on late night with seth myers. Today the president could face a sizable protest vote in michigans primary. Well go through that straight ahead. Meanwhile, the president is optimistic that a ceasefire in gaza could happen in a matter of days. Well bring you the very latest on the negotiations between israel and hamas. And that comes as congressional leaders are set to meet with biden today at the white house in hopes of hammering out a deal to avoid a government shutdown. Good morning and welcome to Way Too Early on this tuesday, february 27th. Im jonathan lemire. Thanks for starting your day with us. And well begin this morning with a president ial Primary Election in michigan thats being held today. President biden is expected to easily defeat his only real challenger, Congressman Dean Philips of minnesota. But his biggest challenge is likely to come from the states large arab american population. Well explain that in just a moment. Meanwhile, the republican primary is much more complicated. Todays results will determine only 16 of michigans 55 delegates. The other 39 will be decided saturday during a state party convention. But there will be competing conventions this weekend because of a Leadership Dispute within the Michigan State gop. Christina, an Election Denier and donald trump supporter, was removed as chairwoman last month following a vote by state Party Committee members. She has refused to accept the results and still claims to be the state party leader. Earlier this nupt the Republican National committee recognized a man who was endorsed by trump as the actual state party chairman. Hell oversee a convention in grand rapids while karamo is holding her gathering in detroit, deeply confusing. Biden campaign cochair Gretchen Whitmer acknowledged a large portion of the electorate will not vote for biden protest his handling of the israelhamas war. I think there will be a sizable number of votes committedch. I think it is very persons right to make their statement what is important to them. The uncommitted organizers have said they want to get at least 10,000 votes. Do you think theyll reach that . I think thats possible, yeah. President biden has seen significant backlash in the state from his arab american and Muslim American population as well as some young progressive voters. We should note Governor Whitmer will join us later this morning on morning joe. Joining us now White House Reporter for the Wall Street Journal subriana siddiqui. Good to see you again this morning. The president faced a protest vote in new hampshire. Some people were encouraged to right in a ceasefire instead of the president s name and that amounts to nothing. Today feels much more sizable. Give us the lay of the land. What should we and President Biden expect in michigan today . Thanks for having me. Well, i think first and foremost President Biden will comfortably win the michigan primary. Theres no question about that since hes facing minimal opposition. But as you point out there is this effort to get voters to cast their ballots as uncommitted. And michigan is the state with the highest and number and percentage of arab americans in the country. And those who have been frustrated by President Bidens handling of the israelhamas war and specifically the humanitarian crisis in gaza is using this as an opportunity to really warn the president he does not currently have their vote. And barring a significant change in policy, they are likely to either Vote Third Party or stay at home in november. Its not theyre planning to vote for former President Trump. But i think the margeern this group this effort is looking toward is having at least 10,000 uncommitted votes. That was trumps margin of victory in 2016. Now President Biden won by roughly 154,000 votes in 2020. But i think the message is still if this is a close election, then that margin of victory or that margin of 10,000 could actually make a difference. If thought they could potentially secure more uncommitted votes and it is a warning sign to President Biden and the white house that they need to change course in their handling of the war and do a lot more to try and reassure this community and reaffirm their support with the community in the past elections has predominantly voted with democrats. It could be a real warning to President Biden and potentially humbling if those numbers are sizable. Sabrina, lets take the other side of this then. What does the president and his Campaign Staff how are they going to address this in the aftermath of todays election . How do they reach out to the community, and how do they hope to repair things by november . Its been a bit of a problem because last month the Biden Campaign dispatched its Campaign Manager to meet with some local arab american leaders and the Biden Campaign manager was rebuffed by many local officials. In recent weeks you actually saw some top Foreign PolicyNational Security officials from the Biden Administration sit down and have a consideration. Now, the biggest problem isnt that these voters are not looking for a shift in tone. Theyre looking for a shift in policy. So what i often have heard from them is they dont want to talk about the politics. They dont want to talk about, you know, thou hoir going to vote in nchb so much as what is the president going to do to what to bring about what they want, which is a permanent ceasefire in this war as well as, you know, the u. S. No longer sending military aid to israel, at least in the course of this conflict. And thats something that this administration is not really prepare to do. The president is pushing for a temporary ceasefire and last night he said he hopes therell be one by monday, but were not expecting a significant shift in the u. S. Support for israel in this in this war and so, you know, what the Lasting Impact of that is going to be with this community is still untold. Again, i think the Biden Campaign is trying to draw contrast with former President Trump, a lot of his inflammatory rhetoric and policies towards muslim and arab americans but its not clear drawing that contrast is going to be enough when these voters are i think really frustrated by and disappointed with President Bidens posture especially as the death toll in gaza has neared 30,000 people most of whom are civilians. You make a great point here. The president has hopes of a ceasefire coming, and certainly those around his reelection bid hope the war in gaza will fade from the headlines in november. But will this population of michigan and other places friv and move on and come back to the president sphthats the open question. Terrific stuff to start us off this morning. Sabrina, thank you. Well talk to you again soon. Meanwhile, President Biden and former President Trump are both expected to visit the southern border on the same day. This thursday. In a statement yesterday the white house announced bidens trip to brownsville, texas, where he will, quote, reiterate his calls for Congressional Republican tuesday top paying politics and provide the funding needed for the border. Meanwhile, about 300 or so miles away in eagle pass, texas, donald trump is also planning to deliver remarks. Thats according to two sources telling nbc news. Speaking to reporters after filming his appearance with seth myers yesterday, biden briefly commented on the competing trip with trump. Will you meet with migrants while youre there, mr. President . Well, im not going to announce it ahead of time. Secret service the president enjoying an icecream cone there with seth myers as he spoke woo reporters. Ahead of their trip tuesday the border new polling finds most americans view immigration as a major issue. 61 of adults say that illegal immigration is very serious problem. Thats up from 46 back in 2019. That includes 91 of republicans, 58 of independents, and 41 of democrats. As for the Border Security bill that House Speaker mike johnson refuses to bring to a floor vote, nearly half of all adults, 48 say both parties are equally responsible for its blocking. 36 believe Congressional Republicans are more to blame, and 13 say Congressional Democrats are more to blame. The answer here clearly is republicans but shows a Messaging Issue for democrats. Theyre working on it. Meanwhile, republican congressman scott perry of pennsylvania is calling for Speaker Johnson to cancel President Bidens state of the Union Address next month. The former House Freedom caucus chair is saying that republicans should use the opportunity to put pressure on biden over the southern border. Take a listen. We need to use every single point of leverage including the spending and certainly including an address to the people from congress. He comes at the invitation of congress. The republican are in charge of the house. Theres no reason we need to invite him to get more propaganda and actually blame the American People for the crisis he caused. Thats certainly not going to happen. Still ahead here, as we mentioned well show you President Bidens new comments about a potential ceasefire deal between israel and hamas. Plus Nancy Pelosis message to european allies amid concerns about a possible second term for donald trump. Well also preview todays high stakes white house meeting between President Biden and congressional leadership including Speaker Johnson. All those stories and a check on sports and weather when we come right back. Sports and weather when we come right back heres to Getting Better with age. Heres to beating these two every thursday. Help fuel today with boost high protein, complete nutrition you need. Without the stuff you dont. So, heres to now. Boost. [ ] theres a way to cut your dishwashing time by 50 . Try Dawn Powerwash dish spray. It removes 99 of grease and grime in half the time. It cleans so well, you can replace multiple cleaning products. Try Dawn Powerwash. So this is pickleball . Pickle ah, these guys are intense. With e trade from morgan stanley, were ready for whatever gets served up. Dude, you gotta work on your trash talk. Id rather work on saving for retirement. Or college, since you like to get schooled. Thats a pretty good burn, right . Hi, im sally. Im from phoenix, arizona. Im a flight nurse on a helicopter that specializes in trauma. Ive been doing Flight Nursing for 24 years. As you get older, your brain slows down and i had a fear that i wouldnt be able to keep up. I heard about prevagen from a friend. I read the Clinical Study on it and it had good reviews. Ive been taking prevagen now for five years and its really helped me stay sharp and present. Its really worked for me. Prevagen. At stores everywhere without a prescription. crowd cheers sore throat got your tongue . Mucinex instasoothe sore throat medicated drops. Uniquely formulated for rapid relief that lasts and lasts. Thats my babyyy ow get mucinex instasoothe. Its comeback season. Whoa, how did you defeat them . With a little kung fu strength and by connecting my devices to the most powerful force of all. Skadoosh. Hah, huh . Cool right . Amazing. Harness the power of xfinity internet and stay connected to the things you love. Ah, theyll be like this for hours. Hello dad, hello dad, hello da. Uhoh. Good bunnies. Ahh welcome back. President joe biden is now saying he hopes to see a ceasefire and hostage release deal in the middle east within a week. He made the comments while speaking with reporters in New York City yesterday. Over the weekend israels war cabinet approved broad terms of a deal that would involve a sixweek truce for the release of about 40 hostages. The ceasefire would coincide with the muslim holy month of ramadan, which begins next week. The president wouldnt elaborate on those details but signaled significant progress has been made. Take a listen. Can you give us a sense when you think itll start for oh, i hope by the beginning of the weekend or the end of the weekend. At least my National Security advisor tells me were close were close. Were not done yet. My hope is by next monday well have a ceasefire. Elsewhere overseas, after 19 months of waiting, the nation of sweden is now officially set to join nato. This comes after hungary Prime Minister, victor orban, finally allowed his countrys parliament to vote on the matter. Posted on social media after the vote Writing Swedesen is ready to shoulder its responsibility for euro atlantic security. The vote came after swedens Prime Minister made a visit to budapest last friday. The Wall Street Journal is pointing that sweden will strengthen the alliance. The alliance will gain a solidly antirussian member with a robust military that provides critical defense of europes noorn flank. It also brings a country whose uhuh proach to National Security engaging teenagers, retirees, Police Officers in the countrys defense offers a model for other european models fearing russian aggression. Sweden joins finland as the second country to join nato after russia invaded ukraine. Meanwhile, as concerns rise overseas about the possibility of a second donald trump term and the volatility it would bring, former House Speaker nancy pelosi is encouraging our european allies not to fret. Take a look at part of her recent discussion with sky news. What advice would you give to the europeans on how to deal with him . Id say to them what ive said to some of them today. The plural, the anecdote is not data. Thats an expression we use in the appropriations committee. Just because he says things and people say he could win or this dont agonize, organize. Thats what we say ourselves when we have to win the election. So i think its a strain on them to be worrying about something that may never happen. But in the meantime the more he speaks out, the more clearly we understand what his motivation is, and thats an opportunity to. Next up, well turn to sports and a controversial ending to the knicks, Pistons Game Last Night that had one head coach absolutely fuming afterwards. Well be right back with that. Ls wel lbe right back with that. What is cirkul . Cirkul is the fuel you need to take flight. Cirkul is the energy that gets you to the next level. Cirkul is what you hope for when life tosses lemons your way. Cirkul, available at walmart and drinkcirkul. Com. Can neuriva support your brain health . Mary, janet, hey thinking eddie, no frasier, frank. Frank . fred how are you . fred. Fuel up to 7 brain health indicators, including your memory. Join the Neuriva Brain Health challenge. Saved. Knocked away. Ten seconds. He throws it away. Picked up by brunson. Brunson inside. So the New York Knicks escaped the pistons last night with a 113111 win over detroit, and they got some real help from the referee. As we showed that here. An egregious miscall right there. He tackled him. The refs later admitted they missed that foul call during the final sequence when knicks guard Divin Cleanseo crashed into the legs of the pistons rookie. The head coach was rightly livid after the game as he aired out his grievancewise the official. The absolute worst call of the season. No call. And enoughs enough. We had a chance to win the game, and the guy dove into the legs, and there was a no call. Thats an abomination. That situation is Exhibit Annal to what weve been dealing with all season long. Enough is enough. Its ridiculous, and were tired of it. We just want a fair game called, period. And ive got nothing else to