Transcripts For MSNBCW Way 20240703

Expert witness. Nobodys ever heard of it before. Thats donald trump yet again making false claims, this time doing so yesterday after testimony wrapped up in his hush money trial. The judge cleared the jury out of the courtroom because of the lawyer trump just referenced. Well have expert legal analysis on that very contentious moment straight ahead. Meanwhile, Rudy Giuliani and other trump allies accused of Election Interference in arizona are due in court today. Well explain that case and how prosecutors tracked down the former mayor of New York City. Also ahead an update on Campaign Cash of President Biden and donald trump as the rnc ramps up funding to overcome the former president s legal bills. Good morning and welcome to way too early on this tuesday, may 21st. Im jonathan lemire. Thanks for starting your day with us. And we have a lot to get to this morning, and well begin with Donald Trumps criminal hush money trial, which will resume later this morning after the prosecution rested its case yesterday. Michael cohen took the stand for a fourth day of testimony, and trumps legal team once again sought to chip away at his credibility. At one point on the stand cohen did admit to stealing Tens Of Thousands of dollars from the trump organization. Cohen said in 2016 he asked for a 50,000 reimbursement to pay a tech firm but ultimately gave the company 20,000 while he pocketed the rest. On redirect the prosecution asked cohen why hed stolen the money and hed explained it was because he was angry because trump had slashed his annual bonus that year. Prosecutors also tried to Cleanup A Discrepancy from last week when trumps attorney, todd blanche, Accused Cohen of lying about a phone call he made to trumps bodyguard, keith schiller. Blanche argued that the call which lasted just over a minute and a half wasnt long enough for cohen to speak to both schiller and trump, but prosecutors admitted a new photo into evidence that shows trump and schiller standing together at 7 57 p. M. That was just 5 minutes before cohen made the call to schiller and says he discussed the Stormy Daniels payment with trump. So the defense teams second witness of the day looked to further the narrative that cohen was simply motivated by revenge. Trumps lawyers called veteran new York Attorney Robert Costello to the stand. At one point cohen was considering hiring costello at Rudy Giulianis recommendation. Costello at the time had promised to act as a back channel to former President Trump, but cohen never retained him, the two men have publicly feuded ever since. Cohen testified that cohen told him multiple times that he did not, quote, have anything on donald trump and that he paid Stormy Daniels hush money on his own. Costello yesterday soon became aggravated after several objections by prosecutors, and he began making comments under his breath and rolling his eyes. This prompted the presiding judge, judge merchan, to ask the jury to leave the room before he addressed the situation. He said this i want to discuss proper decorum in my courtroom, okay . So when theres a witness on the stand, if you dont like my ruling you dont sigh jeez, okay, and you dont say strike it because im the only one that can strike testimony in the courtroom. Do you understand that . Costello responded with i understand. But the exchange only grew more tense. Judge merchan said, okay, and then if you dont like my ruling you dont give me side eye and you dont roll your eyes. Do you understand that . Do you understand that . Costello answered i understand that, i understand what youre saying. But judge merchan apparently did not like the Look Costello was giving him and then said are you staring me down right now . The judge then completely cleared the courtroom including press and spectators to talk oneonone. Judge merchan purposely allowed his conversation to continue on record and according to Court Transcripts told costello the following, im putting you on notice your conduct is contemptuous. If you try to stare me down One More Time i will remove you from the stand. I will strike his entire testimony. Do you understand me . Shortly after that exchange, the prosecution began its crossexamination of costello, which will continue this morning. Joining us now former u. S. Attorney and an msnbc contributor barbara mcquade. Barbara, good morning. Thanks for joining us this morning. Lets start with the prosecution, which has officially rested their case. In your estimation do you think they did enough to get a conviction . Well, its hard to say, jonathan, because the jury is really had a birdseye view to this case from start to finish. Theyve heard every word of testimony. Theyve seen every bit of evidence, and so not being in that position its always difficult to predict what a jury might do. They also bring with them their world views and opinions about things. But aside from that, the prosecution certainly has put forth enough evidence for some jury to find guilt here and made out a prima facie case. Thats why the judge denied a motion to dismiss because there is sufficient evidence to prove every element of this case Beyond A Reasonable Doubt and i think thats true even if you discount the testimony of Michael Cohen. Oftentimes jurors will say were not going to even Pay Attention to the testimony of the cooperator. Hes got a lot of baggage, we dont like it. But just looking at the rest of the evidence and using common sense to put this all together, does it make sense to anybody Michael Cohen just paid this out of the goodness of his heart and then sought reimbursement afterwards . Of course not. I think on that basis, yes, the prosecution has made its case and whether the jury will see it that way is another matter. We wept through this remarkable moment with Robert Costello yesterday and his Contentious Exchange with the judge. Lets get your read on that. And Bigger Picture costello and what the defense is doing, do you think its moving the needle with trump at all . It was really a remarkable moment. Most witnesses go into court and they understand it is a place where decorum matters and that they will behave themselves well. And after a warning or two mr. Costello did not heed that warning, and so the judge i think did what judges do, which is make it clear that decorum will prevail in his courtroom. So even after that we saw objections to questions for Robert Costello. You know, just reading the record and not being in the courtroom, he comes across to me as sort of a thug. And it really feeds into the narrative that the prosecution is trying to portray here, that this is someone who came in to intimidate Michael Cohen and to say things like you have friends in high places, you should sleep well tonight, you know, the kinds of things a mobster says to keep somebody in the fold. And so if theyre trying to defeat that narrative, theyre not doing a very good job so far. And barbara, 30second last answer here. After costello, do we have a sense what the defense might do next . Will they rest and we move onto Closing Arguments . Theyve, you know, tried to get in this Expert Witness to testify about the law, but of course the law is not proper for an expert. Experts give opinioness about facts to help a jury, and the judge has said any testimony about the law would be not helpful, so it has to come from him, so i think theyre going to rest. Of course we now Closing Arguments and Jury Deliberations wont begin until next week. Former u. S. Attorney and msnbc contributor barbara mcquade, thank you as always. Im certain well be speaking to you again soon. As usual trump was joined in court yesterday by an entourage of allies. This time around they were less wellknown than his Previous Group of supporters and most were in their trump supporter uniform. You can see it there. Blue shirt blue suit, white shirt, red tie i should say. This group wept outside to hold a News Conference to once again push trumps false claims. But yesterday they were drowned out by aept trump demonstrators and hecklers who were ready with whistlers and cowbells. I was not asked to be here, i chose to be here because prosecution im a Public Defender and im here to tell you after six weeks of unconstitutional my question is why hadnt he been prosecuted . Its lie after lie after lie, and hes making a lot of money. A lot of money. Ill tell you after being all morning in this courtroom its pretty evident this partisan witch hunt has one purpose. That one guy showed up in a blue polo shirt. He missed the memo. Still ahead here what arizonas Attorney General is saying about several fake electors who are headed to court today for their arraignment. Plus well look at the latest effort by Senate Democrats to put the spotlight on Border Security, and well provide an update from iran. All those stories and a check on sports and weather when we come right back. Sports and weather when we come right back im jonathan lawson, here to tell you about Life Insurance through the Colonial Penn program. If youre age 50 to 85 and looking to buy Life Insurance on a fixed budget, remember the three ps. What are the three ps . The three ps of Life Insurance on a fixed budget are price, price, and price. A price you can afford, a price that cant increase, and a price that fits your budget. Im 54. Whats my price . You can get coverage for 9. 95 a month. Im 65 and take medications. Whats my price . Also 9. 95 a month. I just turned 80. 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One of the defendants expected to appear is former trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani. The exNew York City mayor Taupted Arizona Authorities On Social Media friday night bragging hed not been served with papers while posting a picture of his Birthday Party while down in florida. That post helped the Attorney General figure out his location and had him served that verynith. Mays responded saying no one is above the law and said she expects to see giuliani in court today. This is a serious case. We expect him to take it seriously. We expect him to be in court tomorrow. I mean we are doing the initial appearances for 11 other defendants here in phoenix tomorrow. We expect him to be the 12th. He can he can ask to appear virtually. We have not we dont know whether hes going to do that or not, but we expect him to be the 12th Defendant to appear in court in phoenix and to take this case seriously and professionally and be in court when hes been asked, you know, by the justice system. Last month giuliani and 17 associates and allies of former President Trump were indicted on charges including conspiracy, fraud, and forgery related to their alleged attempts to change arizonas 2020 Election Results in trumps favor. Those charged include seven socalled fake electors seen here back in December Of 2020 meeting at the gop headquarters in phoenix to sign a certificate claiming to be arizonas 11 electors despite, of course, joe biden actually winning the state by nearly 11,000 votes. Trump was not charged but is named an Unindicted Coconspiratorter in this case. Meanwhile to washington now. Senate democrats are expected to force a vote this week on the bipartisan Border Security package that republicans blocked earlier this year. The legislation is designed to reduce border crossings, raise the asylum standard, and shutdown the border once encounters reach a certain threshold. While the package was met by an endorsement from the Border Patrol union, former President Trump ordered Senate Republicans to kill the bill so he could run on the issue in the general election. Despite the legislation being doomed in the senate, democrats are looking to put republicans on defense when it comes to immigration policy. Elsewhere on capitol hill, republican senators katie britt of alabama and ted cruz of texas have introduced a bill to protect invitro fertilization. If passed the legislation would protect ivf by banning states to receive Medicaid Funding if they restrict or ban the procedure. The measure comes after alabamas Supreme Court ruled in february that embryos fertilized through the treatment should be considered children. Alabamas governor later signed a bill that overruled that and protected ivf access in the state. In response to yesterdays bill multiple Democratic Senators came out against the Legislation Arguing that it contains a series of gop poison pills. And lastly, the massive Container Ship that crashed into baltimore emphasis Francis Scott key bridge causing its catastrophic collapse nearly two months ago has finally been removed. Tug boats could be seen yesterday escorting the dali the name of the ship out of the channel and back to port. Crews first had to pump out more than a million gallons of water in order to refloat the ship. Repairs were expected to take several weeks. President biden praised the operation on social media Yesterday Writesing in part the dali has been cleared from the channel, a mark of progress and a promise kept. It took the grit of workers and officials coming together to get this done. Thats baltimore strong. Still ahead here, the final four in the Stanley Cup Playoffs is now set. Well bring you the highlights from last nights thrilling game 7 showdown in vancouver. Plus an update on wnba rookie Caitlin Clark after she limped to the locker room last night. All of that and a check on the forecast when we come right back. Check on the forecast when we come right back Head Shoulders bare clinically proven Dandruff Protection with just 9 essential ingredients no sulfates, no silicones, no dyes. Dandruff protection, minimal ingredients. Job done. psst psst ahhh with flonase, allergies dont have to be scary. Spraying Flonase Daily gives you long lasting nondrowsy relief. Flonase all good. Also, try our Allergy Headache and nighttime pills. Diabetes can serve up a lot of questions. Like what is your glucose and can you have more carbs . Before you decide with the freestyle libre 3 system know your glucose and where its heading no fingersticks needed. Now the worlds smallest and thinnest sensor sends your Glucose Levels directly to your smartphone. 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Shot blocked. 5 seconds left, got to hurry, deflected the corner and the Edmonton Oilers are going to the Western Conference final. Really fun game last night the Edmonton Oilers outlasted the vancouver canucks. A three goal Second Period powered the edmontons victory as the oilers outlasted a late surge. The Oilers Will Travel To Dallas For Game One against the stars. That will be thursday night. Meanwhile, tonight the nba playoffs resume with game one of the Eastern Conference finals. Top seeded Boston Celtics playing for the third round in the sixth time in eight seasons will host the Indiana Pacers in their game sunday against the knicks. The pacers are good. Im taking nothing lightly. Meanwhile in the wnba Caitlin Clark is facing a new challenge to the start of her professional career, an ankle injury. She rolled her ankle midway through the second quarter. You can see her collapse there on that very colorful court. Clark shook off the injury and returned but her team high 17 points was not quite enough as the winless fever fell again this time 8884. We turn now to Major League Baseball and some franchise history made last night for the boston red sox. Well go to st. Petersburg where devers rallied. His two run shot to left during the fourth inning marked his tenth long ball for the season and sox beat the Tampa Bay Rays 50. The mariners ended the streak at the seven games. Four runs in the ninth marking just his second blown save in 15 tries this season. Seattle wins 54. But the Baltimore Orioles lost to the st. Louis cardinals keeps them on top. Hows it looking out there . No surprise weve got more Severe Weather to talk about today and already ramped up this morning in parts of the midwest. Notice the Thunderstorm Watch that is in effect extending across this region. Omaha and nebraska in that severe Thunderstorm Watch at this hour. By the time we get into the afternoon and evening hours, though, this is going to ramp up. Weve got a big system working its way through the east and going to be problematic through the day today. It includes 41 Million People. And notice the bulls eye but it extends from green bay to minneapolis down to springfield and including st. Louis as well. Were mainly concerned about those strong winds, 60 Miles Per Hour or higher, but up to 90 Miles Per Hour is onto table. Notice the large area we could see some of those stronger tornados so ef2 or greater. But the tornado risk is quite expansive through this region through the evening hours tonight. That system will start to move a little farther to the east, and then that means Tex Toos Ohio will be that area well watch tomorrow for strong storms to develop and the bulls eye will be dallas to little rock including memphis and points north of that. The hail risk will also be there 2 inches in diameter or higher. On top of that, of course, weve got the heavy rain, too, and flood watches already up. 8 Million People included in this in parts of the midwest. We likely will see the Flooding Concerns, specifically flash Flooding Concerns from Duluth To Water Bay and sioux city included in that today. Over an inch across the midwest but notice parts of oklahoma, texas, and arizona, thats where were going to be watching for the potential of 1 to 2 inches, so flooding and strong storms all on the table, and weve even got some warm temperatures across the board ahead of this system. Well be watching that. Angie lassman, thank you as always. Next up here on way too early, donald trump is planning a Campaign Event in a deep blue district. Well talk about the strategy there and how it coincides with his busy courtroom calender. Well dig into that next. Calen. Well dig into that next is isn no wonder i dont feel as clean. Heres Charmin Ultra Strong. 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Trump will have a rally In The South Bronx on thursday while hes in town for his hush money trial. Lets note that in 2020 about 77 of that neighborhood, which is new yorks 15th district, voted for biden. Trump, of course, largely stuck in new york these last few weeks. Hes had an event at a firehouse, a bodega, this one In The South Bronx trying to make political points against President Biden. Joining us now National Political correspondent for politico meredith mcgraw. Meredith, good morning. To good to see you. Theres a limit i suppose as to what trump can do. Although we should note he hasnt exactly taken advantage of an off date in court. Plenty of other days hes just golfed at maralago. Talk to us why the Trump Campaign look hes not going to win maybe votes in New York City, but hes trying to make specific Message Points and perhaps try to score with lutoneo and black voters elsewhere. Tell us the thinking. Yeah, donald trump going to a borough in New York City is an unusual spot for him to be holding a rally. This is first time trump is holding a rally in new york since he held a rally in buffalo in 2016. Since trump is in New York City for his trial, his campaign as you said hes been holding some events around there to try to take advantage of the Media Attention and the time that he has while hes there, but for trump he has talked about wanting to make a play in the empire state here in 2024. Its extremely unlikely that, of course, hed be able to win new york, which has been a deeply blue state, but he sees advantages in holding a rally in south bronx, making a play with minority voters, talking about the economy and really trying to capture a lot of eyeballs and attention while hes in new york. Yeah. Safe to say he wont be winning new york or frankly new jersey either where he he had a rally lately, but hes sort of tied to the tristate area at the moment. Lets talk about some Campaign Fund raising. Some filings came in last night. Trump and the republicans outraised the biden and democrats this past month, but biden still a significant advantage with cash on hand. Tell us a little bit about that, but part 2 ore sauls seeing some donors giving money to both trump and independent candidate rfk jr. That feels like tipping their hand, no . Yeah, weve seen from the recent fec filings its the first time the Trump Campaign has caught up with the Biden Campaign. But still the democrats hold a major cash advantage here, and the Trump Campaign, he still is getting bogged down by a lot of his legal expenses. And even though the rnc had a really significant haul, a lot of that money is being earmarked for their convention, but it is a good sign for republicans who just have not been up to speed with democrats in terms of fundraising, and it comes as, of course, the rnc has had new leadership, and trump has had some pretty high profile fund raisers. He had that big 50 million fundraiser in palm beach in april, and the Biden Campaign, though, continues to outraise and were expecting to see President Biden continue to have some fundraising stops in los angeles, pretty high Profile Events coming up. But as you said whats been interesting in this most recent fec reports is there has been a cross over between some donations between to trump and to rfk jr. Tim melon is one of those. He donated a lot of money, millions of dollars to both trump and rfk jr. He is the heir to the melon fortune. Hes based out of wyoming. Hes a very private person and a not a whole lot is known about him, but he does donate to a lot of Major Political causes, and his donations to both trump and rfk jr. Has raised specter he believes rfk jr. Could be a kind of spoiler for trump. Now, that is not how the Trump Campaign views rfk jr. And same for the Biden Campaign. Both really think he could be an xfactor in the 2024 election in terms of how many votes hes able to siphon away from them. All right, National Political correspondent for politico, meredith mcgraw, thank you for joining us this morning. Well talk to you again down the road. Next up here well go live to cnbc for an early look whats driving wall street after nasdaq closes at a record high. Plus china launches an antidumping probe into plastics imported from the United States. Well dig into the impact this could have on that industry and the u. S. Economy when we come right back. Try and the u. S. 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Futures being mixed this morning while asia and the european stocks inched sightly lower after several u. S. Fed officials expressed some unserptd over the timing of rate cuts and well hear more from some of those fed speakers today including governor Christopher Whaler before we get more on the meeting wednesday. China has signaled a possibly retaliation against Trade Barriers the United States imposed last week. Tell us about the back and forth. Indeed. China is probing imports from the u. S. , European Union, and taiwan a plastic that is very much used for auto parts, electronics as well as medical equipment. The China Commerce Ministry said the investigation could be completed in a year but could be extended by six months. Of course chinas Plastic Probe comes amid a broader trade row with the United States and europe. Youll remember just last week the Biden Administration unveiling a raft of tariffs against chinese exports including a 100 tariff against electric cars coming from china and the European Union themselves launching their own antisubsidy probe and also weighing in on potentially putting some tariffs. Lastly, charlotte, a major retailer slashed prices on more than 1,500 popular items. Tell us about it. Well, target announced it will lower the price of around 5,000 grocery staples like milk, bread, fruit, and vegetables as well as diapers and pet food and said price cuts would be across dozens of National Brands as well as their own brands. Thats good and gather and ever spring and target already lowered prices on more than 1,500 products in the past facing fierce competition including from walmart to attract cash strapped consumers who are still facing high food prices and high borrowing costs. All right, cnbcs Charlotte Reed live from london, thank you as always. Next up here, funeralporosistions for irans president and Foreign Minister are now under way. Well bring you the latest on the deadly Helicopter Crash that killed them both and the reaction from u. S. Officials when we come right back. When we come right back. man mm, hey, honey. Looks like my todo list grew. Paint the bathroom, give baxter a bath, get Life Insurance, hm. I have a few minutes. I can do that now. Oh, that fast . Remember that Colonial Penn ad . I called and i got information. They sent the simple form i need to apply. All i do is fill it out and send it back. Well, that sounds too easy man give a little information, check a few boxes, sign my name, done. They dont ask about your health . man no health questions. Physical exam . Dont need one. Its Colonial Penn guaranteed acceptance whole Life Insurance. If youre between the ages of 50 and 85, your acceptance is guaranteed in most states, even if youre not in the best health. Options start at 9. 95 a month, 35 cents a day. Once insured, your rate will never increase. A Lifetime Rate Lock guarantees it. Keep in mind, this is lifetime protection. As long as you pay your premiums, its yours to keep. Call for more information and the simple form you need to apply today. Theres no obligation, and youll receive a free Beneficiary Planner just for calling. Welcome back as we turn now to news from overseas. Irans Supreme Leader has called for five days of National Mourning after the Helicopter Crashed in a north west part of the country that killed the nations president , Foreign Minister, and other officials. The capital of tehran will hold a funeral for president raisi tomorrow which has has been declared a National Holiday by the atolla. Leaders from around the world expressed condolences to iran yesterday including the United States which also noted though the Brutal Regime Raisi helped oversee. Heres what National Communications advisor john kirby had to say. Offering condolences is a typical practice. I mean president raisi was responsible for atrocious human rights in his own country the unrest and physical violence against hundreds of protesters, for instance. And of course hes responsible for this report that iran provides or he was responsible for the support iran provided the Terrorist Networks throughout the region. No question this was a man who had a lot of blood on his hands. With that said as we in any other case, we certainly regret in general the loss of life and offered official condolences as appropriate. Were sorry but not that sorry. Joining us now former spokesperson for the u. S. Mission. She also worked for the nsc and treasury department. Its been striking with iran. Theres been outpouring of grief. We showed some Funeral Footage in tehran but also some celebration this man is dead. Give us your sense about his life and what his death means. Sure. So i want to highlight how remarkable it is you had all this kind of support or joy, if you will, expressed among so many iranians in a country that is under repression doing Something Like that already in and of itself is a brave act. Fireworks, you had people posting dancing videos on social media, people honking their horns, which it expresses their collective relief that hes gone because of the widespread suffering that he imposed. And that is because since in the 1980s back in the 80s alone he had murdered 5,000 Political Prisoners in irans prisons, but that effort to murder and execute irans Political Prisoners that continued up through his protests. Thats why you had so many iranians expressing collective joy and relief. The president , sure, thats an Important Role but its really about whos going to be the next Supreme Leader and raisi was tapped to potentially be the favorite there. Do you expect any changes in iranian policy . In one aspect i expect similar leaders to follow in the footsteps of the president and Foreign Minister, so i dont expect any radical changes to policy certainly with regard to whether its repression or toward the middle east or their support for russia or ukraine and so on. That said at the end of the day the most important position is the ayatollah. Thats also why even if there are people we may not know of and theres no likely successor. We have not heard any names that are obvious. Some people have said maybe the ayatollahs son, but after the revolution they took resolutions so the son wouldnt take over. Youve got things where things thin the government are shaky because people are jockeying for those positions. There was a real worry on sunday when the Helicopter Crash happened that iran would point fingers at the u. S. And it has not done so. One news agency said yesterday they acknowledged it was a mechanical problem. That move itself was denounced by others who were upset with netanyahus conduct in the war. Just explain what the i icc really is, whats its jurisdiction . On the one hand you have the International Criminal court has Member States that must sign into it or up for it, and so there are 125 states that are members of the International Criminal courts which does not include the United States, israel, russia, china did not sign up for it. Even though the u. S. , by the way, helped create the statute to give the icc authority. That said when you have this process, the prosecutors do an investigation they deem in this case they want to arrest these two leaders on each side, on hamas side and on israels side, that goes to the judges of the International Criminal court. And if they say thats appropriate, and they agree with that, then those Arrest Warrants are issued to those 125 members. Meeping any one of those individuals that they travel to state, that observe and are part of the icc, they will be arrested. And in this case thats a lot of states, sta. Youre talking about many european states and states of countries all over the world. This were to follow through the rest of the process, it would impact significantly their travel of these individuals, and i dont believe the u. S. Can ev you have republicans and democrats who said they want to sanction the icc and icc leaders. To me as a sanctions person, even though i thought this was a bit weird to have both hamas and israeli leaders, i do think that is bizarre, usually the icc doesnt tend to go after leaders or individuals in countries that have internal democratic processes to investigate war crimes and hold people accountable for them. They didnt against, for example, saudi arabia, for what saudis did in yemen, for example. I thought that was a bit weird. The equivalence was weird. But that said, i dont believe the u. S. Would have any sway or ability to change that decision. Another fallout from the decision is Benjamin Netanyahus political future at home is precarious, at least for a day. Got a show of support from those in israel who rallied with him against this warrant. Thank you for covering so much ground this morning. Former spokesperson for the u. S. Mission to the united nations, we appreciate it, shamar. Up next, we preview President Bidens campaign travel. He has an official stop in New Hampshire today to tout his administrations work for americas veterans. Coming up on morning joe, the latest after a dramatic day in Donald Trumps criminal trial, including what happened between judge merchan and a key witness for the defense. Plus, former fbi director james comey will join the conversation with his take on the trial and his fears if trump is reelected. Also ahead, 16time grammy awardwinning singer alicia keys will be live in studio to talk about her hit Broadway Musical hells kitchen, nominated 13 tony awards. You wont want to miss that. Morning joe a few moments away. It aint my dads razor, dad. Ay watch it its from gillettelabs. This green bar releases trapped hairs from my face. Gamechanga . While the flexdisc contours to it. So the five blades can get virtually every hair in one stroke. For the ultimate gillette shaving experience. The best a man can get is gillettelabs. Welcome back. President Joe Biden Will Travel To New Hampshire today where he is expected to announce a major milestone for the pact act. Hell address veterans and their families in an event in nashua. It boosts health care for veterans exposed to toxic substances like agent orange was signed in law in 2022. Since then, the law has provided over 880,000 veterans and survivors with disability benefits. Joining us now, White House Reporter for the wall street journal, our friend ken thompson. Good to see you. The pact act, a major milestone, personal to the president whose son, beaus cancer may have been originated from toxins in the middle east. New hampshire tends to be blue, but you say it is a state biden needs to keep his eye on. Tell us why. Yeah, john. Its one of those states that, right now, is outside the realm of the battleground map, i would say, but it is always a competitive place. It is a state that is full of independent voters who know joe biden and donald trump very well. You know, theyve seen both of these candidates multiple times in recent years, and so its just a place that, if youre a democrat, you cant allow it to slip out of your column. I think thats part of the reason why theyre going up to New Hampshire today to talk about this relatively new law. There are a lot of veterans in New Hampshire. As you mentioned, this is an issue that is near and dear to the president. You know, he blames these burn pits for his son, beau, getting cancer. I think this was something that he really wanted to make part of the law for veterans. Hes going to be ending the day in boston to raise some money, and so theres also that consideration, as well. Perfect segway, ken. Fundraising. We got the new numbers. President biden still has a significant advantage in terms of cash on hand. However, republicans and Trump Outraised his last month. Is that setting off alarms among the biden team, or are they feeling good where they are . No. I think they felt like this was going to be a stretch in which trump was going to outraise them, simply because he can raise jointly with the Republican National committee the amount of money that you can raise per donor goes way up, more than 800,000 perdonor. The challenger will begin to outraise the incumbent. We saw it in 2012 with mitt romney, for example. They feel pretty good in terms of cash on hand. The Biden Campaign will say, look, how are you using the money . Were building an infrastructure in these battleground states, and in many cases, theres not a big trump presence. I was in michigan over the weekend. The Michigan Republican party has been very dysfunctional, whereas, biden is opening all these offices around the state. In a close race, you know, that could make a big difference. Certainly more blocking and tackling on the democratic side right now. Lets stay on the map for one more beat, a quick one. Trump was in minnesota. Republicans pounding their chest about the chance to win minnesota, virginia, states that have reliably gone blue. Does the biden camp think theyll have to play there . I dont think so. They sent some surrogates out. You saw the governor and Senator Smith was out there, as well, you know, pushing back against trump. I dont think the Biden Campaign sees that as a big threat right now. Its certainly something thats very important to trump. I think they felt like in 2016, if they had had maybe another week, they might have been able to put minnesota in the republican column. Again, its one of these states thats sort of outside the battleground realm. If we start seeing more travel into places like New Hampshire, minnesota, virginia, places like that, we might look at this as a potential Expansion Map for trump. I dont think thats the case right now. Ken, last night, the president had some pretty strong words of support for israel at a white house event yesterday honoring Jewish American heritage month, including saying whats happening in gaza not genocide. Tell us more about these comments and why it is a politically precarious situation for him. Yeah. This was really a stand by israel kind of speech yesterday. You know, hes trying to thread the needle to maintain support among Jewish Americans who are proisrael, while at the same time, you know, reaching out to progressives who dont like what they see in gaza right now. You know, we saw him over the weekend in his morehouse speech, you know, saying that, i hear you. I hear the protesters, and im listening to you. But at the same time, i think he feels strongly, like this icc finding was outrageous, as he put it. You know, you noticed in the speech at the white house yesterday, you know, he said he will stand with israel against the butchers of hamas. You know, this is one of those cases where it is a real challenge to, you know, placate both sides. I think theyre hoping for some kind of deal with the hostages that will allow them to move forward. Desperate for the ceasefire deal for lots of reasons. Covering a lot of ground for us this morning. White house reporter for the wall street journal, ken thomas