good morning and welcome to the saturday edition of "morning joe weekend." it was a busy weekend, let's get to some of the conversations you may have missed. >> had i been president biden when the justice department came, i would have been-- it made me, president biden the be gotten the person i pardoned, the little guy. >> i can't keep up with this. >> stephanie is right here. >> i know she is. that is why i am saying, stephanie, i can't keep up with this guy. they are all saying mitch mcconnell says, oh we can't impeach him here, we've got to try. and now that romney is saying, we can't try, we've got to acquit. >> that is what was so stunning to me. for mitt romney to say, joe biden should have stepped in and pressure prosecutors like, what? doesn't mitt romney support separate, but equal branches of government? i read mitt romney's book where he talks about being afraid for his family when he voted to impeach donald trump. he was afraid of presidential overreach, what trump could do, yet, when the tables are turned, he is saying, joe biden should not have let this happen. >> it makes absolutely no sense. >> what is stunning, we actually have a longer clip. he talks about, listen, everyone in the country knows donald trump, there was election interference, right? he did pay off a star ended illegally hold documents. none of that is going to change. we all know that. actually, let's show a little bit. >> this week, leaders in the republican party went up to the trial, stood outside the courthouse and attacked our legal system. how does that make you feel about republicans right now? >> i think it is a terrible fall for our country to see people attacking our legal system. that is an enormous mistake. i think it is also demeaning for people to quite apparently tried to run for vice president by donning a red tie and standing outside the courthouse. i felt awkward, were i one of those individuals. i can also say, i think president biden made an enormous error. he should have fought like crazy to keep this prosecution from going forward, which is a win-win for donald trump. >> is that joe biden's job? should it there be a separation? >> i have been around a fall. if lbj had been president and did not want something like this to happen, he would have been all over that prosecutor saying, you better not bring that, or i'm going to drive you out of office. >> i am pretty sure you support having separate, but equal branches of government. >> i do. had i been president biden when the justice department brought indictments, i would have immediately brought a pardon. i would have parted president trump. why? it would make me, president biden me to be gotten the person i pardoned, the little guy. >> i am so confused, stephanie, for a lot of reasons. >> first of all, donald trump has not admitted guilt. >> and it is not 1965. lbj pressuring people to prosecute or not prosecute, exactly what scares us about what donald trump is promising to do. he is not any different than donald trump, they are saying to me as president, i would have pressured prosecutors. there is also the possibility that you pressure a prosecutor to drop a case and the prosecutor says, screw you, making that prosecutor even more powerful. he is feeding into the lien i don't think he is attempting to feed into the lie here, the fox news light that a lot of fox news primetime hose spread that the assault was concocted by joe biden and could be aided by joe biden. that is number one. i would love to talk about that. number two, i would love to have you talk about how mitt romney thinks that a guy who is a former president, who stole nuclear secrets, who stole our secret invasion plans to iran, which we may still have to do at some point, who stole some of the most damning secrets about the united states, recording our defense weaknesses . and then, lied about it to the fbi. the fbi tries to get it back, justice department tries to get it back, lies, lies. then, when that does not work, he goes to his i.t. person, pressures him to destroy the information, the i.t. person for the cameras refuses to. then, he goes to his groundskeeper and says, can you flood out, strain the pool, according to testimony we are going to be hearing. all of this, massive coverups, obstruction of justice, on top secret security issues, including nuclear secrets. >> senator romney agrees with everything you said. >> mitt romney says, we should have given him a free pass on all of that. >> we should move on and be done with donald trump. and mitt romney is clear, he will not vote for donald trump, but it is very strange to see a u.s. senator, former governor who has spent decades of his life in our government, who deeply respects our government, simply saying, we should ignore the rule of law, because all of the circus is good for donald trump, politically. donald trump loves the free press and it helps him. >> jonathan, do you have a question, or would you like to just scratch your head in utter befuddlement like the rest of us? >> that is my instinct. it is so surprising for senator romney , who has stood up to trump in so many ways. >> and is not bode for him, he has made that clear. >> and that is fine. he thinks he's trying to put the country first, the above bipartisanship and think we should all move on and heal as a nation, that seems strikingly naove. we are talking about donald trump, who joe just said, made deeply clear what he would do if he is in office again. the things that romney says we should forget, trump says, i'm going to keep doing that, and be that much more emboldened. someone that has been one of the republican party's very few critics, he would go down this path. >> there is that unserious thing, the other unserious thing, mitt romney still does not want to say who he will vote for. the last few elections, he wrote in his wife's name. that is not a serious thing to do. he laid out in our 25 minute conversation all of the serious risks our country faces, yet, he does not want to say what he will do. the interesting thing is, he says, he does not want to publicly say, because he does not want to lose the influence he has with his party, which begs the question, what is it you will do next? >> let's bring more voices to this conversation. political analyst and publisher , cause of msnbc's the weekend and morning weekend, and editor of the new republic, michael to mask it is with us. the publication is not for its june edition entitled, on my-- "american fascism" and what it would look like for that topic. >> he does. michael? >> yes, sir. >> michael, i don't want to say , is this how fascism wins? but when you have people saying, oh we can't impeach him, and a we can't prosecute him for the stealing of nuclear secrets, then the covering up of nuclear secrets, then the lying to the justice department about stealing nuclear secrets, and then the lying to the fbi about the stealing of nuclear secrets, and in the attempt to destroy cameras that show you still nuclear secrets, and then the attempt to flood the facilities, to hide the fact you stole nuclear secrets, and you have got mitt romney, supposed to be the paragon of virtue for the republican party saying, let him go. please, where does this lead us as a nation? >> that is how fascism wins, joe. as jonathan just said a couple of minutes ago, you pair all of that, the past actions, with what he is plainly telling us he is going to do if he gets power again. he hasn't made any secrets of this. project 2025 spells it out very clearly. many leaks to the "new york times" and other publications from his people saying, what they will do in terms of, for example, rounding up undocumented immigrants, and so on, and then there is his own recent shocking interview a couple of weeks ago where he said openly, the things he is going to do. i guess some would dispute the term fascism. i sure don't. i know millions and millions of americans don't. when he says, the threat is internal, and these people are berman me polluting our country, that is rhetoric. there is no way around that. what we have done, if i can quickly plug, we have eight new essays in our new issue about some stores of fascism in our country, and other pieces, brian stelter, formerly of cnn, did a fantastic, chilling piece on what may happen to the media, eight different articles looking at what this country might be like if he really sums power, and has his weight and does the things he and his people are telling us they are going to do. 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" let's pick a backup on the conversation we were just having before the break. everything that they write about, donald trump has already promised to do. >> i think what is really interesting is, thinking about this interview you did, a lot of the reaction to trump is not about ideology, it is about personality type. i think since 2015, he came down the elevator, there have been two dominant personalities we have seen processing him, one of clarity, and one that has this emotional need to pursue balance at any price. you see it in the media, and you see it in leaders. i look at romney and there's this deep, constitutional to beat dallas. yes, he is a criminal, but he should be pardoned. anytime you say anything that acknowledges the reality of the danger, there are these people in our media, they run newspapers. >> the constitutional balance. >> i don't mean constitutional like that, i mean enter constitutional rights >> they think that is how-- >> it has nothing to do with what is happening. there is a certain type personality type that is very dangerous. >> thinking, this is better to balance my constitution that actually protect the constitution. >> that he almost has a need, and a lot of people do, and i think it has been one of the biggest problems in the media also processing trump is a --trump-ism, where you have newspapers that are very used to covering normal two sides, low taxes, high taxes, big government, small government me but when it is, do we do democracy anymore or not? there is this both sizing impulse. that to me was the political version of the both sizing impulse. it is the room personality, if michael and the new republic is right, we are in this new historic moment of fascism, it is the wrong personality to protect the country at this time. >> in our conversation, we talked about what would a second term look like for president biden or donald trump? the country is so polarizing, it is divided. joe biden has actually got a ton done on a bipartisan basis. i said, what would he need to do in the next term to try to really bring people together? and i said, what would trump do? he said, obviously, trump is not looking to unite the country. he specializes in dividing. and in it he said, joe biden is a good guy, i like joe biden, he did not say that about donald trump. immediately, he needed to equate things. he said, he is a laugh riot. he is really funny. and i'm like, really? because he had to create an equivalency. >> a bright side. [ laughter ] >> i have seen delaney play the catskills. the thing is, though, there is always this equivalency. you can see it, i saw it the first time in the national review, where somebody said, yes, january 6 was bad, but did you see what joe biden did with student loans? and they continued that argument, because he tried to use his presidential authority to forgive student loans, which by the way, provided a check, and the supreme court came back and said, no, too much, you will have to figure out a more tailored way to do that. and you will still here, and john beauchamp always laughs about it in a sort of callous humor way, he will talk to top republicans will still say, you are talking about january 6th. did you see what joe biden tried to do on student loans? and was dead serious! no, no, go ahead, but really, we don't have to even talk about this, because people did not die because of the student loans. there was a balance, a check on power me because joe biden plays within the guard rails, the constitutional guard rails. >> but on student loans, because mitt romney really went off on student loans and how terrible it was and that is why- - buying votes. what do you think the carried interest loophole is? buying votes. what do you think former president trump meeting with oil executives at mar-a-lago last week, trying to get $1 billion out of them, saying, i will make you a deal, what do you think that deal is? buying votes. to say, look at joe biden, buying votes, forgiving student loans. >> surpassed the largest tax cut in world history, not american history, world history for billionaires and multinational corporations, donald trump flew on air force one from washington, d.c. to mar-a-lago, he sat around a table with billionaires, and what did he say? i just made all of you a lot richer today. >> buying votes. >> buying votes. and mitt romney looks at student loans? that is so sad and pathetic. i wait for the country. i weep for him that that is all he has. >> i haven't said that, mitt romney is going to be one of many disappointments and situations in which we hear people like michael to mask he and his reporters saying, this is how it happens, and mitt romney is not alone. two days ago, it was the guys in the red ties, showing up in court, including speaker of the house for donald trump. it is disappointment, after disappointment, where people equivocate. they decide to let things go. that is how we let our country go. having said that, symone, what you make with the situation of the debates, now to, if agreed to, i think a lot still has to happen to confirm that they do. do you think joe biden should have proposed this? is this a good position for the president to put himself in? it seemed like donald trump jumped at the opportunity, also, who is going to do kamala ? i'm going to be in the running, i am speaking. go for it appears >> i think this has done very well with the conversation you all were just having. this is not a normal election. as many folks have said to me this could very well be the last election that we know of in this way if donald trump is in fact reelected. because this is not a normal reelection, you cannot go about business as usual. there is an argument to be made that the commission on presidential debates since the late 1980s, they have administered the debates, why not let them do it? well, the systems have not demonstrated there up to the task of holding donald trump accountable here the system and the institutions. i think the commission on presidential debates is one of those. it was the biden campaign that really boxed donald trump into a corner. i think a corner that quite frankly donald trump's folks are regretting. now, they are in a situation due to the biden campaign where they have to debate under the rules that joe biden and his team has laid out, or donald trump has to look like a coward and pull out. this is what the american people need to see, a head-to- head matchup to see the stark contrast. not only is joe biden a decent man, he has policy. he has gotten things done in this country and he will be able to talk about that. the contrast is, donald trump, who does not know policy, is obviously not a good and decent man and will detail what he plans to do in a second term, which is, again, be a dictator on day one. i guess my last point would be, to the conversation you all were having about the student loans-- what joe biden did on student loans was made good on the promise he made on the campaign trail. i actually would-- who bought votes was congressman truong, and that did not work out well for you in that primary against also brooks for the maryland senate seat that just happened on tuesday. i don't think this is buying votes, per se. this is people making promises to their prospective bases and people they want support from about what they will do. the difference is, donald trump has promised the billionaires and millionaires that he is going to literally undo all of the environmental regulations and give them everything that they want. do we need to call vice president al gore to talk about the climate crisis? i just think there is a stark difference in what is happening here. the student loans were about people being able to pull themselves up out of a rut by erasing some debt that could help them do things like buy a home and do other things. it is just not the same. >> and yeah, it was a campaign promise. it was done within the boundaries of constitutional norms. the supreme court said, no, you are going to have to go back and tailor it more specifically the way you have done it. that is the way our constitutional system works. it does not work by telling people to charge up to the capitol and start a riot. >> defecating all over the place. >> year, a little different. if you don't understand that, i could name a couple of other republicans that don't understand that. >> what was going on in that interview? >> you do understand it is just a really sad, cynical take. jonathan, as we segue from that to the next one, let's talk about the debate will go a second. you usually have challengers who are in midseason form by the time the president stumbles out, whoever that president is, if it was reagan in 84, you had to go through this process, and then show up there. you had joe biden four years ago having to debate 16 people before he debated donald trump. it is usually the challenger who is midseason form, the president who is flat-footed. in this case, it is just kind of the opposite. donald trump, who stayed away from all the debates, and you got joe biden, who is out talking to people a lot more than trump the roots >> usually presidents that come seeking a second term don't go through a primary process again. they don't have to go through debates. they are not used to being challenged. they don't have to sit through tough interviews. usually the contender who comes in sharp. remember, famously mitt romney was really bad in the first debate. he was out of shape, out of practice. obama got back on his game for the next two. this is a moment where donald trump also is rusty, because he has dodged all of the republican primary debates. when was the last time trump set for anything remotely resembling a tough interview? i think there is conventional wisdom the past few days pushed by the trump cap, a, these debates will be a major advantage to trump. joe biden can't stand up straight for an hour and a half, how could he do this to mark i am not sure that is the case. i also think when they set expectations that low, president biden clears them. coming up, donald trump is laying the groundwork to not accept the results of the 2024 election, and a growing number of his republican allies are now following suit. that discussion is next. is nex. . who knows what to expect! turn shipping to your advantage. keep it simple...with clear, upfront pricing. with usps ground advantage®. ♪♪ i brought in ensure max protein with 30 grams of protein! those who tried me felt more energy in just two weeks. -ugh. -here, i'll take that. woo hoo! ensure max protein, 30 grams protein, 1 gram sugar, 25 vitamins and minerals. and a new fiber blend with a prebiotic. 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you already are! the dodge hornet r/t... the totally torqued-out crossover. treatment axes has compiled a list of responses from elected republicans, when asked if they would accept the results of november's elections, their answers are far from reassuring. it all starts with donald trump, who is not committed to accepting the results of the 2024 race. senator jd vance told cnn's state of the union yesterday, he will accept the results if they are quote, fair and free. in february, you told abc news, if you were vice president in 2020, he would have told states to submit alternate plates of electors and let congress the side. senator tim scott dodged eight times when "meet the press" host kristen welker asked if he would accept the election results, calling it a hypothetical question. congresswoman lister phonics said, she would accept results if constitutional, but also said, the 2020 election was not because of covid error-- error changes to voted. senator grant said he would accept the results if there is no massive cheating. congressman byron donalds will accept the results if he thinks they are fair, and if states follow their own laws. joe, i just-- i want to send this write to you. what do we do with this? how are voters max supposed to process this information? >> well, you have got one party that says, they will accept the results of the election, if they like the results of the election. they say things that are all very subjective, if they think it is fair. we can go back to 2020 to see where you had members of the trump administration who were responsible of protecting voting in 2020 thing, it was the safest election, the cleanest election in american history. and into that, with that background, you have republicans who have refused to accept the results. it is all subjective. if they like the results, they will accept the results. if they don't like the results, they won't accept the results. donny deutsch, the host of podcast "on brent with donnie" and it is a great podcast, by the way. you are also an advertising legend, a branding legend. let's talk about the republican brand here. you know, no need to engage in hyperbole. the peaceful transition of power has been the guarantor of american democracy, of western democracy for centuries, where the loser accepts the results. and we have seen, in our lifetime, we saw al gore do it in the most extraordinary way, the most dramatic way. it's putting country over party. so, you know, here, we have a vote. we will have a vote this fall. and i know a lot of republicans, would call the peter mueller, best wearing republicans, who just want to pretend that it is bob dole against bill clinton. nina, i just always vote for republican. this year, you are not just voting for a republican. it is a vote for a candidate who doesn't believe in the most basic principles of american democracy, and we could get a list, but i really don't want to waste my breath on it. because everyone knows about it. everyone knows about the killing of generals, et cetera, et cetera. you have republicans, those peter mullarkey best wearing republicans, it is just republicans and democrats. what is the difference? it is a vote actually for somebody who does not subscribe to the most basic precepts of american democracy against a candidate who does. and it is really that simple, donnie, isn't it? >> it is. we have said many times on the show, when an authoritarian tells you what they are going to do, you pay attention. now, his followers are telling you what they are going to do, so you pay attention. joe, you can take off the list, we can take off the list, when it is no longer the justice department, an independent, federal communications commission, on and on, we can go. when anybody says to me, well, that is not really going to happen, because we have had checks and balances in the institutions. you are already seeing, there will be no checks and balances. not only do we have the tell from the fearless leader, we have the tell from the followers . there is no mystery here. there is absolutely no mystery here. anybody that votes republican, and does not understand you are voting for the end of democracy, pay attention to some of the shows the past weekend. we have talked a lot about this on the show and i have talked about this as a man. these pathetic men, the spinelessness, the sucking up, i don't know how they face their loved ones. >> donnie, donnie, these are the guys that talk about masculinity. they are tough guys . as i have always said about the war on masculinity, if you are a real man, you don't really notice that people are trying to declare a war on masculinity. you just go out and you do what you are supposed to do and you tune out the noise. yet, these guys play tough guys , and want the world to be more manly. they are the least masculine men . they are the guys that went to ivy league colleges and won't defend their father's honor, won't defend their wife's honor. they will allow donald trump to say the worst, most humiliating things about them, constantly. how do i say it politely? >> don't use the word, don't use the word, joe. don't do it. >> here, but we know. >> they just-- well, i can't say it. he undermines them and he humiliates them, and they just come back for more, and they are the ones writing books about manhood? give me a freaking break! >> i just can't understand. i don't know if these guys had their lunch money taken growing up, printing across the capitol during the siege there, the irony, you bring it up, about them talking about the mail under siege in this country, you guys are not setting an example for what it means to stand up and be a man. >> they are not. next, what goes on inside the situation room at the white house? george stephanopoulos will be here with his new book that takes us behind those historic closed doors. oors. you know what's brilliant? boring. think about it. boring is the unsung catalyst for bold. what straps bold to a rocket and hurtles it into space? boring does. boring makes vacations happen, early retirements possible, and startups start up. because it's smart, dependable, and steady. all words you want from your bank. for nearly 160 years, pnc bank has been brilliantly boring so you can be happily fulfilled... which is pretty un-boring if you think about it. here's to getting better with age. here's to beating these two every thursday. help fuel today with boost high protein, complete nutrition you need... ...without the stuff you don't. so, here's to now. boost. there's nothing better than a subway series footlong. except when you add on an all new footlong sidekick. we're talking a $2 footlong churro. $3 footlong pretzel and a five dollar footlong cookie. every epic footlong deserves the perfect sidekick. order one with your favorite subway series sub today. it's hard to explain what this feels like. ♪♪ moving piles of earth. towing up to 4,000 lbs. cutting millions of blades of grass. nothing compares to experiencing it for yourself. you just have to get in the seat. can neuriva support your brain health? 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(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. late yesterday, i canceled a cabinet plant operation, which was underway in around to position art rescue team for a later withdrawal of american hostages. >> at 7:00 this evening, eastern time, air and naval forces of the united states launched a series of strikes against the headquarters terrorist facilities, and military assets that support subversive activities. earlier today, i ordered american forces to strike direct --iraq. our missiles since the following missiles to saddam hussein. when you abuse your own people, or threaten your neighbors, you must pay a price. >> at this hour, american and coalition forces are in the early stages of military operations to disarm iraq, to free its people come and to defend the world from great danger. >> tonight, i can report to the american people and to the world that the united states has conducted an operation that killed osama bin laden, the leader of al qaeda. >> those are some of the consequential actions ordered by american presidents over the last 62 years. behind each of those moments where dramatic scenes away from the press and the cameras in the white house situation room. that is the topic of the new book titled, "the situation room the inside stories of presidents in crisis." it also gives an inside account of the situation room on january 6, 2021. with us now, the book's author, george stephanopoulos, the coanchor of "good morning america," the host of "this week," and also served as advisor in the clinton white house. this is such a thrill to have you on the show. thank you so much. >> it was also thrilled to hear you all talk about 8:00 that times during the break. it is something we all share. >> exactly. for you, it may be 8:00, you may be healthier than us. for us, it is 6:00. it is "wheel of fortune" and then, boom, we are in bed. george, what excites me so much about this book is, you did not have a front row seat to history, you were a part of history. you were there, inside the clinton white house. you saw this happen. you also take readers to a place where we have never been before, that is inside the situation room on january 6th. tell us about that and what else we are going to see, read in this book. >> the most harrowing story in the book, joe. i tracked down a white house situational room duty officer, who is actually inside the situation room on january 6th. he talks about going in for his 12 hour shift, driving around 4:00 a.m. and knowing as he was driving into the white house that something was off in the city. he was on duty, on watch when the capitol was breached, with the right broke through the security line at the capitol. what he describes happened next is just unbelievable and stunning. he was in direct contact with the secret service, your how much danger vice president kamala harris-- mike pence was in. you were just talking about a few minutes ago, who now questions whether the vice president was invite that day. mike says, there is no question that the vice president was in danger that day. the situation became so harrowing on capitol hill that the white house situation room had to do something that had only been done once before in the history of the united states, that was implement what is called, the continuity of government operations. that is the whole senate procedure that sets up the line of succession. it was designed originally by dwight eisenhower to make sure the government survived a nuclear attack. they then had to start implement these procedures on january 6, setting up different situation rooms, being ready to move people in the government to safe locations. it had only been done once before on 9/11. they started to implement these procedures on january 6th, because what was going on in the capitol, inspired by the president of the united states. imagine that. the white house situation room, over the 60 years since john f. kennedy created it, has dealt with assassinations of presidents, the assassination of john f. kennedy, sifted-- attempted assassination, they have dealt with 9/11, wars, natural disasters. here, on this day, they were dealing with an insurrection against the united states government, inspired by the president of the united states. and i asked mike stiegler, when i spoke with him, did the president ever called down to the situation room that day, not once. >> wow. i guess not surprising, but still shopping-- shocking. george, congratulations on the book. just full of extraordinary new reporting. as george said, that's us in a room that most americans will never see. you talk before january 6th about the way donald trump, then-president trump, was viewed his homeland security advisor said this. he was the least disciplined, least organized human i'd ever met. none of his staffers could stop him from constantly undermining us and making decisions outside the process. what did tom bossert and others the inside that room that alarmed them, george? >> i think he served in other administrations, yet served in george w. bush's administration, several other administrations, like john bolton served in the trump white house. what they say to a person is that, there was nothing normal about the trump white house in the way that the situation room was used. he fired omarosa, and it never happened before. donald trump himself did not use all that much. what had been built up in those 60 years was a process that continued across administrations, republican and democrat, probably the person ran it best, been squirrel cough, who did it for president george hw bush, but everything broke down in the trump administration and in many ways, you find times, and i spoke with many situational duty officers, and many others working at the time you described, almost-- they were trying to run the government almost at times in a way that would keep the policies of the trump administration going, despite what the president himself was doing to me and most notably on the issue of ukraine, when they were trying to send aid and assistance to the new government and the president was holding it up, because he wanted to have zielinski investigate the bidens. next, a fascinating new report on why beethoven may have lost his hearing. it is something that puzzled the scientific world for 200 years. and now, we have answers. 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>> what was the cause of his deafness? actually, one question is, where did they even get here from beethoven, which is kind of weird. turns out, when he was dying, people went in and clipped locks of his hair for remembrance, if you can believe it. 200 years later, there were five locks they could verify through dna analysis actually came from beethoven. that is where this all began. then, the question was, what could you learn from this hair? beethoven, he had written something saying, i really want doctors to figure out why was i so ill? he had terrible stomach cramps, he was so sick all the time. he could not hear anything. he was in despair, because he was really deaf. one of the people who owned some of the locks of hair decided to try to get to the bottom of this, and sent it to a lab at the mayo clinic, which specializes in doing analyses of lead and other toxins that might be in the hair. and it turned out that beethoven had more lead in his hair than they had ever seen, and they do samples of all of the world from lots of people. two blocks they had. one of them had 280 micrograms per gram of hair. the other one had-- no, 300. i've got to get this right. 258 in one and 380 in the other. normal is less than four. so, it was just astonishing amounts of lead. he also had other metals in there. he had arsenic, for example. but the lead was unbelievable. the question is, where did he get this led? why would he have so much lead? they used a lot of lead in those days, they did not realize it was toxic. one thing they would do, if wine did not taste good, if it was kind of vinegar they would put lead, because lead has a sweet taste. that is why kids eat lead paint. it is sugary. they also had lead in medicines, everything. >> gina, stepped back a bit and take us back to that incredible scene your article opens with, narratives of 1824, and beethoven is standing up in vienna, to conduct the world premiere of that incredibly famous ninth symphony with "ode to joy," and the crowd is going crazy, the audience is going crazy behind him and beethoven is standing, carrying on conducting, because he cannot hear. i have listened to this so many times. the idea that he was so deaf he could not hear the crowd behind him, it campaigns even more to the genius of how he did it. >> unbelievable. he was standing there, his back to the crowd they get to the second movement that opens with these kettle drums, really loud , and the crowd went wild, cheering. now, we have these drums pounding and the crowd cheering, and he had no idea. he was fumbling with the musical score, and trying to conduct the soprano, who was going to sing after the "ode to joy" tucked him on his sleeve, and turned him around, so he could actually see the crowd. that was how he knew. it was unbelievable. his "ode to joy" was his search for something when you are sick and you can't hear anything when you are a composer. don't go anywhere. we have a second hour of "morning joe weekend" right after the break. ter the break. here's to getting better with age. here's to beating these two every thursday. help fuel today with boost high protein, complete nutrition you need... ...without the stuff you don't. so, here's to now. boost. 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( ♪♪ ) i thought water would help with these dry spots. that's lawn disease. but scotts healthy plus will cure it! lawn disease? been going around. so like other people have it and it's not... pick up a bag of the new scotts turf builder healthy plus lawn food today. feed your lawn. feed it. trump's legal team tried to hammer away at his credibility yesterday. court is in recess today, so the former president can't attend his son, baron's high school graduation this morning. cohen's questioning will likely wrap up on monday. the prosecution has said, it does not plan to call any additional witnesses. and the defense says, it may not call any either. that means, closing arguments could begin as early as tuesday, clearing the way for jury deliberations by the end of next week. hold on a second, willie, lisa, am i wrong about that? you should your head. >> i was talking to someone in the control room. i am lifting the curtain, i'm sorry. >> you can lift it. i just wanted to make sure the information was right. willie, we are looking at what happened yesterday. >> and another day of cross examination of michael cohen yesterday. he testified he spoke directly to president trump on the phone about the payments to stormy daniels. cohen is certain he contacted daniels through kate's bodyguard , two weeks before election day. defense attorney blanche pressed cohen about phone records showing he texted schilling that day, in which he asked, how to handle a teenager that was pretty calling him. cohen responded by saying, he did not remember that message. brett blanche said quote, do you recall texting schiller, who can i speak to regarding harassing calls to myself and the office, the dope forgot to block his call on one of them? you don't recall that? blanche din noted a return text where schiller simply says, call me. blanche then pointed out cohen called shall immediately after for a conversation that only lasted about a minute and a half. blanche accused cohen of lying, suggesting he did not speak to trump during the call about stormy daniels, as he had testified. he insist that both topics were covered, despite the short length of the call. the defense also painted cohen of as having a vendetta against trump. here's a portion of the product podcast played in court. >> i truly hope that this man ends up in prison. it will not bring back the year that allows for the damage done to my family, but revenge is a dish best served cold. you better believe i want this man to go down and rot inside for what he did to me and my family. >> okay, lisa, you were down at the courthouse again yesterday. we talk about that podcast moment in just a second. let's go back, because it was a little confusing, maybe, as we listened to it. what was the trump defense team getting at with that texan phone call between the bodyguard and keith schiller? >> there was a narrow implication and a much broader what they were trying to draw. the first thing they were trying to say is that cohen's testimony about the phone call between him and keith schiller, which he testified, was really a call to trump about the stormy daniels settlement was not true. they presented him with text messages and phone call records that had not been a part of his direct examination the insemination was, you made me factor-- factor this when you said you talked to trump about finalizing the stormy daniels settlement, that really did not happen, did it? you had a minute 32nd long phone call in juxtapose about the conversation of the 13-year-old who was pretty calling. it is clear that you called keith schiller that complained about that to get secrets every -- secret service involved in these harassing phone calls that had nothing to do with stormy daniels. that may or may not be true. it is also true that two days later there is indisputably calls between michael cullen and donald trump. i expect on redirect we will hear a lot from prosecution about that, that michael cullen certainly notify donald trump and spoke with him for some longer period of time as he was finalizing it. the broader implication that blanche was trying to draw, if you can't trust michael cohen about this phone call, can you really trust any of his testimony about the conversations he had with donald trump at the time? after all, this was nearly 8 years ago. is it nearly the case that michael cohen's recollection is not organic, but rather the construction of multiple prep sessions among prep sessions from security that the manhattan das office who have constructed a memory in michael cohen did not organically exist about a conversation that never happened, and others as well. >> you know, i have expressed at times skepticism about this case even being brought. i will say though, yesterday, when commentators were talking about how this is some perry mason line, i said, no it is not. a juror is not going to go, oh my god, eight years ago, a minute and a half conversation- - it seems to me, the much bigger problem is the podcast where he says, i want this guy to go down. the prosecution has got to be able to clean this up on redirect? >> i agree, but i think you and i are in the minority. the vibe i have been getting is a lot of people think this is that perry mason moment. to that i say, when it comes to cooperating witness types like cohen, and cohen, if we take a step back, is not close to the worst cooperating witness you have on the stand. these are hardened criminals, normally. the prosecution knows he will get dinged on things especially because a lot of these allegations happened eight years ago. jurors will forgive memory lapses from that long ago. i was not in the courtroom, but from what i could see, i think this is something that one or two things will happen, either the prosecution will choose to clean it up on redirect, or they may not think it is happening. they may go for the better moment, which is to stand up and say, we are good, we have no further questions for this witness. i did not think it was that damaging me because the prosecution will succeed, and they have throughout the case. cohen is flaky, a guy that is not the most reliable person , but believable on these issues. i have been guilty of this before myself in cases where, you find a factual inconsistency and really hammer it. you think it is going to be that perry mason moment, but if you hammer it too much, it looks a little petty to the jury . it is hard to say what the jurors are thinking. he did not strike me as something that was fatal to the prosecution. everyone knew that cohen would get hit with inconsistencies during cross-examination. i don't think it came as a surprise to prosecution, and i don't think the defense thinks they completely dumped on the state's case. >> howard, how would you handle this moment? what would be the plan? what's cohen is done, we may be out of witnesses , unless donald trump is called to the stand. >> i agree with joe and danny. perry mason moment happened on "perry mason." they don't tend to happen in court rooms. would be extraordinarily rare. second, i also agree with danny that either the government cleans it up or ignores it. more "morning joe weekend" weekend after a quick break. e is some freakin' torque. what? the dodge hornet r/t... the totally torqued-out crossover. here's to getting better with age. here's to beating these two every thursday. help fuel today with boost high protein, complete nutrition you need... ...without the stuff you don't. so, here's to now. boost. tamra, izzy, and emma... no one puts more love into logistics than these three. you need them. they need a retirement plan. work with principal so we can help you with a plan that's right for your team. let our expertise round out yours. 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[ laughter ] >> i would never do that. this circles back to these people. i would say, these people, these trumpers, who have spent their entire life for attacking people for being extremely patriotic, and they lose and they hate america. they hate america. they are constantly going around, saying how weak we are. they hate our military. they say how weak our military is, when it is the strongest in the world. they hate our economy. they claim the president of the united states is a socialist. the dow yesterday made all of these people a lot richer, breaking 40,000 for the first time, despite donald trump's allies that it would collapse if joe biden was president of the united states. they hate this country, they attack this country. the only time they love it is when their person is in office. i have just got to say, and we have got a lot of brilliant minds around this table. they can speak to this if they want to. i will tell you, growing up, one of my friends' fathers was a federal judge. i had no idea until i got older whether he was a republican or democrat. that was the case in northwest florida, a very conservative place, the federal judges kept themselves beyond reproach. they never talked politics, ever ! in the privacy of their homes, if you asked them an opinion, they would just say, not my job. right? i am a judge. they actually took their oath seriously. for a supreme court justice, and i will say, my opinion only, but the guy most likely to have had something to do with the leaking of the jobs decision--.decision, leaking it to the "wall street journal", or somewhat connected leaking it to the "wall street journal", because he wanted to keep brett kavanaugh and amy coney barrett frozen in place, i think history will show that. but that aside, for a guy who is supreme court justice, to let that happen at his own home, in one of the most fraught times in american history since the civil war, it's just sad. and it shows how little respect he has for the institution. it shows how little respect he has for the law. it is disgusting. it is just disgusting. >> and by the way, we can't overstate the timing of this, which is january 17th, 2021. think about where we were as a country. still completely shaken by what had happened on january 6th. a sitting supreme court justice as a flag flying upside down at his home as a symbol of solidarity, as john said, with a stop the steal movement. we should explain, the "new york times" is reporting that a photo of an american flag outside the home of supreme court justice samuel alito has now been made public me the flag flown upside down. at the time knows, the inverted mike has become a symbol of trump supporters who claim, again without evidence, who claim that the 2020 election was stolen. reading from the peace now, quote, the upside down flag was aloft on january 17th, 2021. the images showed president donald j. trump's supporters including some brandishing the same symbol and rioting that capitol a little over a week before. alarm neighbors snapped autographs, some recently obtained by the "new york times". while the flag was up, the court was still contending with whether to hear the 2020 election case with justice alito on the losing end of that decision. in the coming weeks, the justices will rule on two climactic cases involving the storming of the capitol january 6, including whether mr. trump has immunity for his actions. their decisions will shape how accountable he can behold for trying to overturn the last presidential election and his chances for reelection in the upcoming one. i had no involvement whatsoever in the light of the flag, justice alito said in an email statement to "the times." it was briefly replaced by mrs. alito in response to a neighbor's use of object double and personally insulting language on yard signs. >> wait a minute. you are going to hate america because of something a neighbor did. >> you're going to blame your wife and take up that excuse? >> what is this? blaming lives? did anybody care to jump in here? >> i want to know what person, let alone woman, wife, would do that in response to a problem with a neighbor. >> a neighbor upsets me, comes out, makes fun of me because the rays beat the red sox last night, the rays literally suck. i am not going to hang my flag upside down. this is done-- as dumb as what i heard about the dobbs leak. nobody believes him. >> no, nobody believes him, and there is no reason to believe him. he says briefly that tom story had neighbors suggesting, briefly met to a period of days , this flag was flying upside down at justice alito's house. and the idea that a yard sign that says something rude, apparently, said something rude about president trump, is enough for a supreme court justice, who is supposed to be nonpolitical, is supposed to be less political than caesar's wife, would do this. i will just say, do this, not allow his wife to go out and run up the flagpole, but would do this , and now, of course, as alito always does, try to brazen his way through it. next, steve ratner has-- >> i am very excited. >> i love the charts. he thinks we are making fun of him, but we love the charts. he has got charts on this week's new inflation data and what it means for your grocery bill. 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it is going to take a walk of for people to really feel the effects of this. >> as you guys have said, and joe just said, the inflation data is critical to the election, and has not gone well so far, but this may be the beginning of a better trend. let's take a look at what happened yesterday, the bureau of labor statistics announced their latest data and inflation is now-- we call headline, all the good stuff 3.4% of year- over-year. and we take out food and energy, because they move around a lot, 3.6. you can see what has happened. they got inflation down, it stalled out, they have increased a bit, and i want to show you the financial markets and public opinion, the percentage of affected. it is important to note that, yeah, a bunch of is still going up. car rental insurance, a small part. 6% of the index, not something people buy every day. when you start to look at what people buy everyday, you seafood up 2.6%, sorry, 2.2% year-over-year. energy, gas, heating, all of that stuff, to that 6% year- over-year. and goods, anything you buy, a piece of merchandise actually down 3.3 percent year-over-year , furniture and so forth. it is a picture of inflation that perhaps the average american does not fully appreciate how much prices have moderated, especially for the things they buy every day. >> but let's look at housing. you look at young voters, and if you look at housing, if you look at the cost of cars, we were just talking about offset out used automobiles still-- >> you can't get one. >> i was last night at an event and people were talking about how hard it is to still get a decent car. i'm not talking about one of your rolls-royce is, i'm talking about a ford fusion, if they even make one of those anymore. >> first on housing, yes, housing is still going up. the big problem on housing, as you know, is simply the affordability of a house. house prices are still high, but mortgages are also high, which means the affordability, somewhat being able to afford a mortgage, literally, has gone down and 8% mortgage just makes a house unaffordable. that is a huge problem. one of the good things about the cpi numbers, it may give the federal reserve some leeway to cut interest rates a bit, which would bring down mortgage rates of it, it will not be dramatic between now and november. >> car rental and insurance so pensive? >> there's a whole conversation. >> it is 11 1/2%. it is not that i am complaining, if you are working, your work makes you fly from city to city, let's say you are in insurance, or finance, there are people every week i see on planes, that is what they do. they get off the plane and have to go, and they are dealing with 11, 12% increase of what car rentals cost. that cuts into their salary. >> it does. this is only 6% of the index, let's start with that. second, a lot of this is driven by insurance. this is a lot of discussion by cnbc, but insurance rates are growing. i'm happy to talk about it. >> that is over our heads, gus, for the money people. i like purple. go to the next chart. >> all right, go to the next chart. you want to ask me something or should i just plunge in? >> please. >> hara wages doing. we are not cnbc anchors, don't have the skills. >> wages, this was the key point yesterday somebody was complaining to me about inflation. i said to me the real key is whether wage increases keeping up with the inflation increase, because you don't want deflation . now, you're going to tell me whether i was correct in saying, wages are keeping up? >> you're very correct. >> almost like i am a host on cnbc. >> the cnbc crack was not aimed at you, joe. for you, mika. >> it was definitely aimed at me . >> no, that was for me. >> it was actually aimed at highland. [ laughter ] fair enough. if you go back to when inflation was high in 2022, wages absolutely did not keep up. since inflation has moderated, inflation has moderated faster than wages have come down. have also moderated. you have had, joe, to your point, for well over a year now, wage increases running above inflation increases. 4% on average for wages, 3.4% for inflation. not a huge difference, but positive. if you look at the bottom quarter of americans, they have done materially better . for the bottom group of americans, their purchasing power has actually increased by more than this. >> steve, can i ask you this question as alice goes crazy? i am just blowing past. post covid, because you are talking about the bottom third of americans doing better here, the history of this country, from the early 1980s on, the rich getting richer, the poor getting poorer, post covid, actually the lower half of americans actually were getting ahead for the first time, doing better for the first time, are we still there? are some of the safety measures, post covid measures running out, and we are returning to the old model of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer? >> income equality is still narrow. the post covid helped her a while they are phasing out . what really helps is the fact that we are running the economy with a very low unemployment rate. what that means is that employers have to pay more to get their workers. you couple that with a lot of the minimum wage increases imposed during covid and things like that, there is actually more demand for lowering workers that hiring workers, so they are paying more at the lower end. that is really what is driving this significant increase in wages. americans don't appreciate it, but their purchasing power is going up at this moment, especially for those near the bottom. let me show you on the interesting side of this chart, and then we can move on. if you start to look at it by state, these numbers are not as precise. you start to look at it by state, you see interesting things. some states, louisiana, west virginia, where consumers have been losing ground. where their wages have not kept up. there are others, including key swing states, wisconsin, it looks like real wages adjusted for inflation are up something like 7%. it may or may not be a coincidence. i will leave that to hyman to say that his wife biden performed better than any other states. you also have positive real wages in michigan, pennsylvania down a little bit, nevada is effectively flat. arizona is actually up, 1.8% in georgia, we can argue about whether it is a swing state anymore too. can i do my last one weekly? this is an interesting chart i don't think we have ever looked at. it is so dramatic, i did want to show it. relationships to your earlier point between inflation and sentiment. back in 2020, high consumer sentiment, low inflation. inflation shoots up, consumer sentiment falls off a cliff. inflation starts to come down, consumer sentiment goes right back up again. his very last month, because inflation had dulled out, and actually had reversed, and gone the wrong way for a month or two, consumer sentiment fell again. the tie between these two is incredibly dramatic and needs to penetrate people that we are bringing down inflation. very lastly, the stock market has voted on dividing policies and in ration. 43% since the president took office, about 18% this year, and had a huge day yesterday because of the consumer price numbers, which raised the prospect of the fed hopefully to be able to cut interest rates at some point. >> another week like that, and he will buy a rolls-royce. "morning joe" analyst brenneman. more "morning joe weekend" after a quick break. my grandfather's run meyer the hatter for over 75 years now. he's got so many life experiences that he can share. finding the exact date on ancestry that our family business was founded, was special to share with my grandfather. you don't get that moment every day. here's to getting better with age. here's to beating these two every thursday. help fuel today with boost high protein, complete nutrition you need... ...without the stuff you don't. so, here's to now. boost. these days everyone is staring at screens, scanning the news, and watching their spending. good vision is more important than ever, but so especially now is saving. that's why america's best includes a free eye exam when you buy two pairs of glasses for just $79.95, that's a savings of at least sixty nine bucks. two pairs for $79.95. includes a free exam. that's not just a better deal, it's america's best. book an exam online today at america's best.com. ann, you're on mute. -remember when i said we need to screen for colon cancer? -was that after i texted the age to screen was now 45? 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(fisher investments) yes. as a fiduciary, we always put your interests first. because we do better when you do better. at fisher investments, we're clearly different. michigan will be a key state in this year's presidential election and recent polling continues to show a close race. young black men have emerged as a key voting block that could either push joe biden across the finish line, or help give trump the best black voters support for a republican presidential candidate in recent history. joining us now, nbc news correspondent from mainly, who said down with a group of black men who are deeply involved in their community, to see how they are feeling this election cycle. also with us is the president of the national action network, and host of nbc's "politics nation," reverend al sharpton. glad to have you with us. >> the reverend has been telling us for some time that joe biden's support among black voters, not as intense as it usually is for black voters for democratic presidents, but especially among black men. what did you find? >> president joe biden won michigan bikes a little more than 125,000 votes in 2024, i'm sorry, in 2020. in 2024, it is expected to be just as close. there is a demographic-- democratic voters that could play a huge stake in who wins the white house, blechman. if politicians want their vote, they will have to come and work for it. check it out. on detroit's website, it seems like everyone knows them. from block to block and business to business, this group of black men shows up day after day, rain or shine, offering protection, resources, and respect. >> everyday, y'all are out here filling in the gaps? they are new era detroit, an organization that feels the often massive avoided between the people and the politicians. >> people come in and they, holler at us about things they may need. they are struggling with their water bill, light bill, gas bill. >> they are everyday faces and some of detroit's most disinterested communities, a kind of hood first response team, but they feel invisible to those at the height of political power. >> we are one of the lead organizers in the city of detroit, literally the closest you will get to black people in this city. we have not heard anything from a democrat or a republican. >> men like them in communities like theirs could very well determine who will be sent to the white house in 2024 with immigrants and republicans vying for their attention. >> i got indicted a second time, third time, and fourth time and a lot of people said, that is why the black people like me because they have been hurt so badly and discriminated against. >> black men have not benefited proportionate to other populations in terms of economic opportunity and economic health, much less wealth creation. we just have to be honest about that. >> and while biden has locked down traditional black voters, black men are poised to become somewhat of a swing vote. some polls showing that trump is on track to capture the largest share of black voters than any other republican presidential candidate since 1996. >> why do you think it is harder for them to connect to us? >> they just want to get the votes, that is it. they don't care about nothing else. >> people come to our communities and pander for our votes and we have not seen this person ever, we know it is fake. >> in recent months, vice president kamala harris, donald trump, and third-party edited kennedy, have visited neighborhoods that new era works in pierce >> we live in communities with people worrying about their next meal. with people worrying about if they will be able to keep the lights on. we never seen these people. they are not real people. then, when they come, you just said, they come to michigan and they come to these places, but it is not in our places pierce >> who among you is definitely going to vote? raise your hand if you are definitely voting in this election? >> just one, you have not decided if you will vote or not? >> i am undecided. me and my family are democrats. >> i don't know who i am going to vote for pierce >> none of us speak for all black men. i wonder if the candidates are listening, what would you tell them that black men especially want for our communities? >> just want to see you touch, just want to feel your vibe pierce >> if you really want the black vote, spend more time in the black community with black people, hearing about their problems. >> back on the streets, the brothers of new era are doing what they do best, and what they say but most politicians can or want to do, showing up for black politicians-- people in a way that they want see or feel. >> the older gentleman will definitely vote in the presidential election, and for biden, actually. and tracking the generational divide we are seeing among leg men and their support and openness to donald trump, we are seeing something shift along class lines, generational lines as well. coming up, a look at the impact the war in ukraine is having on animals, and the euros working to save them. the is some freakin' torque. what? the dodge hornet r/t... the totally torqued-out crossover. 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>> we don't know. he is like 13 years old. he is really that old. he has room between the seventh and eighth lower, because this particular building was destroyed, completely destroyed. this poor cat became a celebrity. with the help of these cat volunteers succeeded to build a animal shelter. >> give us a sense of the numbers here is that you know in terms of animals who need help because their owners were simply killed, homes destroyed, or the owners can't care for them anymore, and how may people are doing this work, try to participate in these rescue efforts? >> hundreds of volunteers, actually. when you think you rescue animals, actually animals rescue us. they help us to cope with the stress and not only volunteers, also for the soldiers, because i went to the front lines many times with cats, stray dogs. >> we told the story about tom nichols today pierce >> absolutely, we just had one of our contributors talk about how his cat saved his life, not just soldiers, but children at four me for sure. the film also reveals how animals are helping with more recovery efforts. here is a clip about a bomb sniffing dog whose name means bullet in ukrainian. >> getting accustomed to the sound of explosions, along with the smell of gunpowder pierce >> [ speaking non-english ] eng [ speaking in a global language ] >> he passed with flying colors. in a short period, he traded in his slippers for sniffing out explosive objects, even explosives hidden deep in the ground. >> is incredible. i mean, these animals provide a service. they are not just-- some might say, it is fruitless , worry about the people. i think what we are showing here is that animals are sort of intrinsic in the human experience, especially in the middle of a war. >> this is a question of humanity. his whole documentary is about humanity, not only a path for animals, also human traits. he was awarded for the first time, the good veal ambassador dog. alongside with david beckham, orlando bloom, he is a true celebrity. coming up, we speak with a director about a new comedy of the more raw moments of pregnancy and motherhood. egnan y need in life is some freakin' torque. what? 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[ laughter ] like if i was in a knife fight in an alley, they would have kept me in the hospital for 2 weeks, but since i had a baby, they released me in 24 hours, put a human being in my arms and were like, go. we hope you know how to use the car seat. i was like, no, you're not coming home with me to help me? >> so, congrats on the film. obviously, it is irreverent, but truth telling. it pulls back because of how we look at motherhood and such. tell us a few other topics it tackles and the importance of the friendship and part of it. >> you know, i feel like it is not a gauls on motherhood, it is just like, we don't talk about it. we all come from that. it is hopefully removing the shame, the friendship part is the meat of the whole movie. just the fact that these two came up together, you go through different phases of your life when you have a friend from when you are a kid, and when these big events, life events happen, they kind of pull you away from each other. >> wow. the time has really flown. >> yes, it has. it is so wonderful to and every single day of the week with you. that is all the time we have for today. tune in tomorrow, 6:00 a.m. eastern for another look at the week's highlights. until then, enjoy the rest of your saturday. wear