preparing for this bout like rocky balboa getting ready for clubber lang and trump is hard at work trying to go with the scented aquanet or unscented. biden is gathering with aides this week at camp david where his debate prep will likely be fueled by his favorite drink, orange gatorade which explains this new ad. ♪♪ >> is it in you? >> yes. >> good, good. i'm glad. yeah. got to stay hydrated. got to stay hydrated. i like orange gatorade, too. lemon lime probably my favorite favor. >> oh, no. i'm a blue one for me. every time. >> in wilmington, delaware there's a store near where his transition headquarters was so i spent a lot of time there in the fall and winter of 2020, and there was a store that sold souvenir scented candles, joe biden-themed scented candles. the scent, orange gatorade. his love for gatorade is well known and as you heard from the late-night comics, both campaigns are in debate prep mode with less than a week to go before their showdown in atlanta. we'll go through the strategies for both president biden and his challenger donald trump. and speaking of the former president, there's new reporting on alarming comments he made about the use of nuclear weapons, and could today be the day we finally get a ruling on trump's immunity claim? the supreme court is expected to release more decisions later this morning. hrm we've had legal experts on the show yerkd the delay in many ways is the decision. we might hear from them tailed on the immunity case. it might spill into next week, but because it's taken them so long there's little to no chance that the january 6th federal trial can even happen before the election so many feel, many democrats feel for sure democrats have put their thump on the scale. >> we're entering into the no chance realm and it's not because chief justice roberts is going to go to members of the supreme court on the bench and say, look, can you hurry this up? that's not the way that i'm told the supreme court works, so if there are justices who want this to be delayed, then they can slow walk this one, so let's see if we get it today. everybody is waiting. for the first time in months, however, president joe biden has overtaken donald trump in national polling averages. according to the poll aggregate site 538, biden .a .1% lead in the race yesterday. that is the first time that biden has led since at least march which is as far back as the website's tracker goes. the change comes after a series of recent polls show biden narrowly ahead of trump, though all those results were within the margin of error. trump has continued to lead in a number of swing state polls, most also within the margin of error. meanwhile, president biden traveled to camp david last night. he will spend the next few days there with a team of advisers preparing for the upcoming presidential did bait. the plan is for biden to remain at camp david until at least monday, but he may stay longer as he needs to as june the 27th debate draws closer. campaign officials say the president is gearing up to hold donald trump responsible for his extreme record and the dangerous things he's saying on the trail, ripping awe reright, undering my political violence and doing the bidding of his billionaire donors to give tax breaks to the wealth and corporations. we know joe biden is likely to have a conventional debate prep and from the trump campaign i'm sure you're hearing the same thing. that's not the case with donald trump. >> the words conventional and trump end up in the same sentence. certainly on the biden side we saw an image of him boarding marine one, the presidential helicopter, in response to a question about how the debate prep was going. that's haul he had to say and there was a hand gesture and they are being very tight lipped and ron klain who is a veteran of presidential debate prep. bob bauer, his lawyer and the man who played donald trump in the 2020 debate prep will be there as well and they will go through and prepare the president for what will be deeply personal attacks from donald trump, including against about hunter biden. they encourage him, of course, to retain the presidential field, but flashing a little temper, not a bad thing. it's going to be humanizing that will connect with a lot of voters. particularly voters whose only families have struggles with addiction and while donald trump and his team have long downplayed he does any formal debate prep at all. trump is not exactly winging it. he's been holding informal policy sessions where he'll discuss top thanks will likely come up. issues the trump campaign has maintained are notable weaknesses for president biden. we're told here at nbc that he discussed the economy and inflation with senator j.d. vance, immigration with former white house aide stephen miller and former acting i.c.e. head tom holman and held a session with rick genell on national security. trump has also spent time meeting with marco rubio and eric schmitt. next week trump is planning a debate watch party in atlanta set to be attended by several allies and vice presidential hopefuls. what's clear that debate next thursday a huge early moment in this race. and to talk about it we're lucky to have former aide to the george w. bush white house and statehouse elise jordan, pulitzer prize winning columnist and associate editor of "washington post" and pool analyst eugene robinson and deputy editing manager at "politico" some sustain. you saw him host "way too early" depthly, i might add. that's the only compliment he'll get from me today. eugene, let's talk about this debate. both debates have been pretty tight-lipped. you don't want to tip your hand to the other side but before we get into the nitty-gritty let's frame the stakes. why next week matters so much. >> look, this race is balanced on a knife's edge. went through the polling biden having inched ahead in polls that have been within the margin. error. the state polls showing trump with a lead. this is such a close race that anything, know moment when the two are together and you can compare them side by side potentially has a huge impact on which way this thing is going to go because it's going to go, you know, obviously one way or the other. so it's a really, really big moment. i think the biden camp really sees it as an opportunity to -- to -- for the first time to really get the american people to focus on this stark choice, and i think the trump team, you know, feels he can kind of pour it on in the way that he tries to pour it on. it's going to be fascinating, and it's also a weird format, right, because there's no audience, won't be any cheering. the mics will be muted so what i'm looking for is whether any sort of back and forth between the two of them is allowed, and we'll see. >> yeah. certainly, there's a sense that -- because the biden team really pushed for it, no crowd because trump plays off the crowd so well. he'll be deprived of that. there was a coin flip and he picked which podium rather than going last so trump will close it next week. the biden camp, we can tell how important they think this moment is for when they want to have it, june, the earliest we've had a debate in decades. this is a choice. we need to remind americans that, hey, this is who donald trump is and who he'll be again. >> well, the biden campaign needs to set the narrative early that biden is competent and capable to lead going forward, and he absolutely cannot have a senior moment at this debate. that's what i heard -- i was in michigan and wisconsin two weeks ago for a lot of focus groups and i heard democrats who support biden is that they are going to be watching and they want to make sure that he's up to the task. they might still be planning to vote for him, but if -- but still they are uncomfortable about the age and it really is an albatross that is hanging around this candidate and campaign. >> as joan was saying off the coin flip, we now know who will have the last word in the debate, and according to cnn biden's campaign won that flip. they opted for the right podium, right-hand podium on stage which means that he'll be on the right side of your screen as you're looking at it next week. the podium positions will be identical to the candidates' placements during both 2020 debates. trump's team chose to get the last work in marking the first of their debate matchups in which trump will deliver the final statement. he did interrupt biden's closing remarks back in september 2020 debates. you may remember that. sam >> yes. >> this as you know is jujitsu around debates. i don't know i it matter where where or who has the campaign. the trump campaign says he needs to watch his facial expresses. we'll still see donald trump's reaction toss to what joe biden is saying. i don't know how weird that's going to be for the audience if donald trump or joe biden is trying to interrupt and it's on mute. >> right. >> but i guess that the person on the stage will be able to hear. is there a chance that even though he's muted donald trump's either facial expressions or interruptions the will still be heard. >> yeah. >> will he be picked up on joe biden's mic, probably, right. >> or at least presumably joe biden will hear him. >> if past is prologue i assume that trump will be unable to stop himself on interrupt, right, so it could create this weird image or moment where you can hear him sort of in the background and you're wondering what he's saying and joe biden, is you know, distracted by it. i think ultimately your first point is the valid moment. this is a visual experience for people as much as it is an audible experience for people, and by that i mean with biden everyone knows will he come out of this night looking spritish, looking like someone who can handle another four years in office, dispelling the concerns around his strength and stamina, and with trump it's somewhat related but not the same. will he come off looking more grounded and sane, or will he be this rabid caricature of an ex-president that we've become accustomed to for that reason this debate matters. it's been a visual experience. go back to kennedy/nixon. it was looking at these two men. who was young and who was up and coming and had that 5:00 shadow. >> nixon won on radio but kennedy on television. to your point that it is a visual debate. >> john, what are you watching for? >> there are a number of things. there have been other tests of joe biden's ability and ability to do the office, state of the union most notably and he passed that with flying color and put that to rest for a time. democrats have said privately if biden has a very bad night there will be real worries about whether he can continue for this campaign, but his team feels confident. they think he will do well. usually in these debates the incumbent president is at a disadvantage. that incumbent president not usually challenged from the oval offers. did not go through the primary process so, therefore, didn't have to debate opponents in his own party. that's true. biden hasn't done a debate in lang time and neither has trump because he sat out all the republican debates this time around. there's a chance he'll be equally as rusty and the biden team is rusty what they will be reminded of the chaos of his four years and argue that he's even gotten worse. we continue to learn more about his time in office. the former governor of puerto rico said trump talked to him about preparing for nuclear war while he was president. according to "the hill" which has obtained an excerpt from the former president, the conversation happened when trump visited puerto rico after the hurricane in 2016. trump allegedly told the ex-governor, quote, nature has a way of coming back. well, it does until it doesn't. who knows what nuclear warfare what will happen. trump added but i will tell you what. if nuclear war happens we won't be second in the line press the button. in a statement to "the hill" a trump campaign spokesperson said trump did not deny the remarks but had horrors of this type of war. it seems that trump brought this up out of nowhere. there's been other reporting that he has a real preoccupation with these weapons. this seems like another moment to remind americans to just, you know, what those four years were like. >> what the four years were like, that reminded americans that comes with the job, right, that comes president presidency. you have the nuclear suitcase trailing you around, and you can push the button, and i think -- so when we talk about this, i think people need to realize, that you know, you're entrusting this vast power to one of these two men, and now you could argue that, well, both have successfully managed not to get us into nuclear wars during their presidential terms. nonetheless, it does focus you on the stability and frankly the sanity of the two candidates and, you know, while there are crises going on, but there can be a real crisis. you look at russia and north korea, this closer relationship, what russia potentially is going to do to help hit any u.s. city potentially which they can't do. what does a u.s. president do then? and that's like a very real possibility, so what do you want, you know, at the he will snm. >> this is a continuation of trump's fascination with nuclear power. he's long fancied himself to be some nuclear specialist because he had an uncle who was some kind of scientist at m.i.t., and he's talked about it since the '80s and he bragged -- he's scared countless journalist in the run up to the election and my uncle says nuclear is really, really bad. >> the worst trump impersonation. >> i'm not very good so he seems to have a little bit of understanding that it causes widespread decimation and destruction, but he still just really doesn't grasp, that and it shows his fundamental instability and that he is crazy which is what voters judge him on versus biden and his age and not being -- not judging his mental acute and trump's is a mental acute of the other side of the coin that he's never possessed. >> right. >> so anything that the biden campaign can do to draw that out and to draw out the existential stakes of trump having the button, that's a good thing for the biden campaign. >> i was part of the presidential pool at bedminster back in 2017 when trump threat endoto fire in furry at kim jong-un so this is a threat that's growing. >> watch that situation. that could get really, really bad really quick. >> we'll have more on that later in the show. next up leer on "morning joe," two federal judges in florida have reportedly suggested that judge aileen cannon should recuse herself from the trump classified documents case. we'll dig into the brand new concerning about the concerns raised by her more experienced colleagues. plus, a group be minimized oren. (♪♪) when medicine gets better, all of us can get better. look at that beautiful shot of the white house. it's 20 past 6:00 and already day light. a nice sunny day here in washington. we aring going to ignore the fact that it will get up to 100 degrees. just enjoy that shot. not mentioning there. there is now audio of donald trump admitting that he lost the 2020 election and then quickly reverting back to the original lie. it comes from research for the new book "apprentice in wonderland"ry ramin statuda. he spoke to the former president six times and recorded the conversation. trump's admission that he lost came during a conversation with his relationship with geraldo rivera. >> what was geraldo like? >> he did a good job. he was smart, cunning, did a good job. >> are you guys still close? >> no, i don't think so. he is -- after i lost the election, i won the election but when they said we lost, he called me up three or four times. >> after i lost the election -- i won the election. in another conversation between trump the former president claimed joan rivers voted for him in 2016. >> joan said she was a republican. did you know that? >> i thought she might have been a republican. i know one thing. she voted for me according to what she said. >> one small hitch with all of this. joan rivers actually died two years before that election. sam. we heard the president say in his own words, the joan rivers stuff aside. i lost the election and then he very quickly gets back on message. >> pavlovian. >> i don't reach too much into it. >> me either. >> i think he knows he lost the election probably and he's convinced otherwise. >> he's never going to say it. >> might be a slipup here or there and the fact that he ever admitted seems impossible because it's so core to his political appeal, this idea that something was taken from him and relatedly from his supporters. i mean, that is essentially why the basis of the campaign. he talks about it all the time. it's retribution, right, and what are you having retribution for, for this grave unjustice done for you which was the election being done? everyone knows it's been a live. countless lawsuits to litigate this. no extensive corruption overturned and that's the world he lives in and we're forced to live in. >> and lots of people that testified before the january 6 committee hearings that said he knew it was a lie. i agree with sam. i don't think this will have a huge impact. a slip of the tongue that he very quickly wanted to put right in his own mind. in his own mind. >> the big question is who is joan rivers going to cast her ballot for this time around. >> i think that's definitely a concern. we know dead people vote. >> we hear that. >> no doubt about it. moving to the president day during a radio interview yesterday with a milwaukee-based station, vice president kamala harris suggests donald trump's comment about milwaukee being horrible in a meeting he held with house republicans last week represents a larger pattern of the former president attacking predominantly black cities. >> your opponent thinks milwaukee is less than wonderful. in fact, he called it horrible. i know you've been here many times. madam vice president, have your experiences in milwaukee led you to believe that this is a horrible city? >> let me tell you. i love milwaukee, and i keep coming back to milwaukee. look at what donald trump did to apparently criticizing milwaukee. you know, he did that with my home city of oakland. he did that as it relates to baltimore, as it relates to atlanta and philadelphia, and i'll let your listeners connect the dots in terms what have all those cities have in common but there seems to be a pattern at play. >> trump later denied that he called milwaukee horrible claiming he was referring to the city's crime rate and what he claims are voting issues. gene, there's also reporting that he planned to stay in chicago during the republican national convention. >> no doubt at the trump hoe they will. >> which would allow him to bill secret service staying with him? >> funny thing. >> so he could make some money off of it while he was there, but there's no doubt that -- that the cities he criticizes many times have black mayors, certainly have large black populations, and he uses them to create this image of chaos and fear and crime. >> yeah. >> usually not backed up by the numbers, but it's part of his pitch. >> it's part of his pitch. this is not new, you know. you go all the way back to the central park five and just draw the line right to the president day, and, look, let's be honest. that is part of his -- his appeal to his base. not, you know, explicitly we hate black cities, but atmospherically and tribally he makes that pitch, and it's -- you know, it's not quoted language -- coded language anymore, it's just kind of bullhorn. >> was it's just a joke that trump is going to woo black voters from biden in significant numbers enough to change the narrative. basically, what he's doing is trying to make white voters think that trump is racist and have good cause to think so feel that perhaps, oh, well trump is doing outreach so maybe that's how he stands to potentially win, much like ron johnson ran those ads in wisconsin about all he had done for the black community. it wasn't to win black voters, it was to reassure white voters. trump, that was one of the funniest moments at a moment in detroit with some black voters and asking them about trump's comments and to respond and it was just laughter, laughter, full on laughter. >> you're right about trying to create a permission structure for people to vote. still, a bold choice to alienate the residents of the largest city in perhaps the biggest swing state. >> where are you going have your convention? >> an unorthodox claim. >> such a cool city, too. i love milwaukee. i think it's a great city. if i had to choose like a midwest place. good city, good baseball field. good beer. a lot going. >> a great museum on the waterfront. >> a lot of milwaukee love on the show in the last week and rightly so. we've got an important programming note to tell you b.this monday is the second anniversary of the supreme court's decision to reverse "roe v. wade," and to mark that day mika will be sitting down with the aforementioned vice president kamala harris for an exclusive interview. again, that's this monday only on "morning joe," the vice president and mika. still ahead this morning, another high-profile democrat is planning to boycott the israeli prime minister's address to a joint session of congress next month. we'll tell you who it is as the white house and benjamin netanyahu continue to spar over his accusations that the u.s. withheld arms from israel. plus, wikipedia labels the anti-defamation league as unreliable source for the israeli/palestinian conflict and for anti-semitism. the head of that organization will join us with his reaction. that's next on "morning joe." s n that's next on "morning joe. 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x marks the spot. now you can add the new xfinity streamsaver™ that includes netflix, peacock, and apple tv+. that's xfinity streamsaver™ for just $15 a month. all your favorites. all in one place. only from xfinity. for more watching and less spending... x marks the spot. do it all on the network made for streaming, and bring on the good stuff. welcome back. one of the world's most popular information websites has declared the anti-defamation religion as an unreliable source. the editors at wikipedia now say that the top jewish civil rights group and one of the world's preeminent authorities on anti-jewish hate is not a reliable source for information about the israel/palestine conflict and anti-semitism. the editor cited the adl's roles as both an advocacy and research organization claiming that prevents the group from providing unbiased accounts on these topics. the move, of course, comes amid a surge in anti-semitic incidents on college campuses across the country since the october 7 hamas terrorist attack on israel with more than 1,800 incidents reported in just the past eight months. that's up 700% compared to last year. joining us now is the ceo of the anti-defamation league jonathan greenblatt. thanks for being here this morning. jonathan, let's start very simple police. what's your reaction to what wikipedia did? >> well, wikipedia is an organization that we deeply respect, a website we all use, we count on it a great deal, but i also have to acknowledge that its processes are a bit of a black box. the standards are a bit opaque and we don't have total access and transparency into how it works, but this happening today at a moment when jewish people around the world are facing incredible vulnerability suggesting that the leading jewish organization tracking that vulnerability somehow isn't valid, that our processes aren't rigorous, that our data, you know, isn't accurate. it's flat out wrong, and i think what we're beginning to understand as a handful of editors at wikipedia who are basing this decision, if you will, or asserting this claim because of the fact that we do as a jewish organization support the jewish state, because we do use the standard definition of anti-semitism used by governments and organizations around the world, and these are the positions we take. frankly, it's not a basis to kick us off of wikipedia or any other place. that would be doing an incredible disservice to the public at large. >> and their claim that because you guys in their words are advocacy and a research organization, therefore the advocacy taints the research, what do you make of that? >> i mean, look, our processes are absolutely rigorous. our methodologies are sound. they stand up to scrutiny. >> yeah. >> everything is trans parent and done everything above the board. we have a team of phds that do the work. are i find it really incredulous that -- you know, i think we should listen to black people when they tell us what racism is and listen to lbgtq groups is when they tell us what homophobia seasoned we should listen to jewish people when they tell us when anti-semitism is >> the aclue is not the same assing watching the "washington post." we are not advocacy groups. we are journalists. you didn't pretend to be a journalist group. >> correct. >> as far as i know there's never been anything wrong with the adl research. the numbers hold up. the accounts of various incidents hold up, so it is possible to disagree with, you know, advocacy or policy positions that the adl might take and spill respect the research are. i wouldn't say that makes you unreliable. >> look. again, i think it's a handful of people basing this on a series of issues or positions that we've taken that, began, are not grounded in evidence. they are not based in fact, and we're going to do everything we can to explain to the leadership at wikipedia why they think they are getting this wrong. >> isn't this the same as reddit though and the different moderators. these are the online forums and this is how they police based on their own rules, so it's really these outside forms. we can't have much to do with what elon musk can decide what goes on twitter. it's also the conundrum colliding with free speech, bad speech, hateful speech. >> that's a good point. i really admire the fact that wikipedia has volunteers and there are millions of articles out there that we all benefit from, and at the same time when a small group of people can take a political position and they are not accountable. look at ad lvmt we have publicly available financial files, quartering board meetings, a very open process. we use best practice governance. we're a bit of an open book. we're trying to open the book on wikipedia to understand why they are making this decision. >> i was trying to clarify exactly what happened because in wikipedia it's not uncommon like if a celebrity is in the news for something bad or something like that, people jump in and they re-edit the wikipedia bio and then that gets re-corrected and it goes back and forth. is that what's going on, or is this a central doe significance by the people who run the site? >> so as i understand, it again, to your point there are editors we don't know their names and it's hard to ascertain their scholarship or their expertise. nonetheless, a few editors have sort of made a proposition, and, again, they are basing that information which we would highly contest, but there isn't necessarily a kind of due process where we can get necessarily a hearing, so we're doing the best that we can to try to understand how this decision was made, and, look, this -- again, this comes at a time -- i can't put a fine enough point on it, jonathan. we've talked about this again and again. anti-semitism is up. acts of harassment and vandalism and violence are up, and if you don't have the leading organization in the world tracking anti-semitism and our data on wick pied yeah, anti-semitism will continue to increase. i mean, we work with policy-makers. we work with journalists. we work with elected officials, law enforcement to shed a light on this, so if we can't shed a light on this, i worry that the oldest hatred will continue to fest. >> let's move beyond wikipedia. the war in gaza shows no signs of abating. president netanyahu and president biden appear to be at loggerheads about what comes next. college campuses have emptied out and students have gone home for the summer. have we seen a decrease in the anti-semitism incidents? where are we right now? >> a good question. the students have left campuses for the most part, and yet we've continued to see what some activists are describing as, quote, the summer intifada which makes jewish people nervous because intifada was violence in are. we saw vandalism at the home of the director of the brooklyn museum. we've seen, you know, ugly protests in front of the nova exhibit here in new york and all over the country. i will say while campuses have calmed down a little bit because the students are gone. there's still a lot of anxiety out there, a lot of intensity, and i'm a little bit worried, jonathan, as we head towards chicago and towards the summer that things could really blow up in the streets. >> can we just say the obvious once again and keep repeating it. you can go ahead and criticize the actions of the government of israel. >> yes. >> you can criticize benjamin netanyahu. you don't have to go all anti-semitic to do it. you don't have to like hate jews to, you know, to think that benjamin netanyahu is, you know, a bad guy. >> also. i don't know how much media attention it's gotten in the u.s., but there was a horrific rain of a young girl, a jewish girl in france just over the past week. >> that's right. >> and it was -- that is just anti-semitism in its worst and most glaring sexual violence. >> a 12-year-old girl in paris was gang raped in france. you can have compassion and empathy for palestinian citizens and we should. our heart should break for every single palestinian killed, but that isn't an excuse to target and commit acts of violence against jews, in france, in america or anywhere and it's confusing to me why everyone doesn't understand that. we'll keep sidelining a light on it. that's all we can do. >> the ceo of the anti-defamation league, jonathan greenblatt, thanks for being here. >> thank you. coming up next, we'll show you the special way that major league baseball honored the baseball leagues at rick wood field last night. also ahead. we're a morning show so anchorman resonates. do you think your action team to take the "morning joe" cast? >> i'm not afraid of the team of "morning joe." >> why not, will? comedian will farrell says he's not afraid of us here at "morning joe" crew. you know. what i think we can take him. more of my interview with steve carell and kristen wig for their new movie, "despicable me 4." stick around. much more ahead. "morning joe" will be right back. much more ahead. "morning joe" will be right back every day, more dog people are deciding it's time for a fresh approach to pet food. developed with vets. made from real meat and veggies. portioned for your dog. and delivered right to your door. it's smarter, healthier pet food. shake up your shower with a flavor for every feeling. this dove freshens you up. this dove winds you down. this dove leaves you glowing. and this dove keeps you going. so whatever care you care about, there's a dove for every body. and so we welcome you back here to 1954 television. so i like how we're doing it here. this is how the game was shot. >> okay. >> and this is how it sounded. >> do you think they had the split screen in '54? >> they did. >> we're told. this is all authentic. >> that was part of one inning broadcasted in black and white during last night's game between the san francisco giants and st. louis cardinals at rick wood field which is america's oldest ballpark. major league baseball honoring the legacy of the negro leagues in birmingham, alabama just days after the death of the legendary willie mays at the age of 93. mace, who was born in nearby westfield, played his first professional home games there in 1948 as a member of the birmingham black bearons. the giants and cardinals took the field alongside former negro league players in a game um pirld by the first ever all-black crew. bill gleason, the oldest negro leaguer, threw out the ceremonial first pitch. the game itself, a good one. the cardinals beat the giants 7-6. eugene, we were watching this last night. a really nice tribute to the negro league writ large and a tribute to willie maize, considered to be the greatest player of all time and a really important moment for major league baseball recognizing after major league statistics will count in the overall major league standings. >> that's a big deal. >> an important moment to honor what was. >> willie mays was certainly one of the greatest top five, maybe top one. who knows, ballplayer in history. he was amazing, and now that negro league records are included, we will know more about a great selection, josh gibson and satchel paige, these amazing, amazing ballplayers and the few who got a chance to go to major league baseball showed how special the negro league was. >> this was really special. gene, let's talk a little basketball. the los angeles lakers have settled on their next head coach, will hire j.j. redick who played 14 years in the league. no coaching experience whatsoever, gets to coach lebron james and this could be your moment, eugene, to congratulate me on the celtics. >> jonathan, congratulations on the celtics. >> that's why you're leer. >> they were amazing. they are a great team and this could be the first of several championships actually. this has dynastic potential. j.j. redick, so, he's a good analyst. he's a good podcaster. he's a good friend of lebron james apparently, but we have no idea if he's a good coach. >> yeah. >> he's going to be an nba coach of the lakers? and he's never coached in college. he's never coached -- never coached in high school as far as i know and he certainly never coached in the nba, so, you know, i was reading the column by bill pulaski, the great "l.a. times" sports columnist and he was like what the actual blank are they trying to do? this is crazy. >> the track record of nba head coaches are mixed at best. >> a team with one of the greatest players in history, lebron james and anthony davis and that's it, and that's how far are they going to go? they don't have any money to add pieces. it's just crazy. >> and a huge spotlight for a rookie coach. >> now a big night at the olympic trials for lily king. the five-time olympic med a.m.ist qualified for her second event at the paris game which was then followed up by a poolside proposal from her boyfriend james wells. king is poised to compete at her third olympics next month and will be the first american swimmer to compete in the 100-meter and 200-meter breast stroke in the olympics games. we're about a month out from paris and it will be the highlight of the summer. >> there's been a focus on the election that has thrown pair nice a bit of a tizzy. that proposal very high stakes moves. i mean, what happens if she wants to say no and knows the cameras are rolling and she can't. complicated. not something -- >> or how about if he dropped the ring in the pool. >> pessimists early in the morning, all the things that can go wrong. >> very happy for them both. well done for you. gene, your latest op-ed in "the washington post" i love this titled "extreme heat should inspire urgency, not doom." there is now kind of a school of thought that what we need is climate optimists to motivate us as well, of course, needing the climate pass mists who are driving us to take action. what do you see as the task before us as we are boiling in washington? >> we win deed and boiling in much of the country this week. there's a huge heat dome. there are extreme weather things happenings around the world on this increasing basis, and so a lot of people -- you know, some people are just taking and it's over and why are we trying to reduce our emissions of fossil fuel from not losing the battle. overall the average temperatures are rising at exactly the rate that scientists predicted years and decades ago, and there is still time. there is still time to mitigate that. there's still time to avoid the worst case scenarios. what has happened is that we're seeing these extreme weather events faster than we -- than was anticipated. we didn't think this sort of thing would be happening for 10 or 20 or 30 years, these -- these extreme events, and that's because of other anticipated factors like the fact that the arctic is warming faster than the rest of the planet and that differential and temperature between the air masses is lower and so the jet stream is all screwed up. that's what's going on, but there's still time, and we have to have some optimism, and we have to see this as an opportunity to keep moving forward. we can't just be defeatist about this because that will defeat us. >> there is a good book about this. hana rich has written a book called not the end of the world. it's full of solutions of things we can do. she's not a climate denialist by any means. >> but there's also good news. >> there is good news and we need people to feel motivated enough to carry on doing the things and voting for the people who are actually going to do the things that are going to try to turn this around. >> absolutely. >> gene, thanks for writing that. coming up, some democrats are considering a new option for protecting access to a common drug used in abortions. we'll explain what it is and why there's some pushback within the party. that's straight ahead here on "morning joe." party. that's straight ahead here on "morning joe." okay everyone, our mission is to provide complete, balanced nutrition for strength and energy. yay - woo hoo! ensure, with 27 vitamins and minerals, nutrients for immune health. and ensure complete with 30 grams of protein. 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[ laughter ] are busy prepping and they actually agreed to talk to us now about the big showdown. let's ask them some questions. i'll start with president biden. mr. biden, when did you start preparing for next week's debate in the. >> that was pack in 1872 i think. >> okay. mr. trump, over to you. have you been prepping for the debate? >> not even a little bit. >> okay, all right. now the debate stage won't have any chairs so you'll both be standing for over 90 minutes. mr. trump, how long before you'll need a break? >> in three minutes. >> mr. biden, how about you? >> in three seconds. >> all right, well. right now, mr. biden, just to confirm, you're sticking with the same vice president? >> what's her name again, karen? >> kamala. kamala, kamala harris. >> and mr. trump, are you planning to announce your running mate before the debate, or will they remain anonymous? >> anonymous, anomalous. >> okay. i understand. mr. biden what, will be your closing statement to the american people? >> i'll do what he's unable to do. i'll lead an effective strategy to mobilize -- >> sure, sure, sure. and finally, mr. trump, how would you sum up the biggest issue facing the world in six words? >> saudi arabia and russia will be -- ah. >> both rest up for the debate. thank you so much for your time. >> a sneak peek perhaps of what we will see this coming week. the debate, huge laughs aside, hugely important debate for this campaign this coming thursday. >> yes. >> so welcome back, everyone, to "morning joe" on this friday, june 21. i'm jonathan may alongside katty kay and alongside we have former u.s. senator claire mcas skill, she and jen palmieri are host of the podcast "how to win 2024," host of the podcast on brand with donny deutsch is here, and a man who clearly needs a podcast senior political commentator jonathan martin. >> speaking of podcasts. coming up next week katty kay and anthony steve mariucci. talk about a-listers. >> very good conversation with donny. this was a fun hour we spent with you. thanks for having us on. we're delighted. the podcast is going great and finally, too, i can say i have a podcast otherwise i feel like i'm feeling left us. j. mart, it's up to you. >> the last living american with no podcast. >> and clearly you need to be a guest on donny's podcast. >> have your people speak to my people. >> my people is me. >> and my people is me also. >> donny has lots of people. >> donny, while you're here, let's talk about that debate. we heard some laughs coming from there. very funny from jalon. it is the earliest debate, general election debate in recent memory, and frank lit stakes couldn't be much higher. both men have real questions to answer. we note biden campaign hopes to use this moment to remind america just who donald trump is, what he did while in office and to make the case that the next four years if we were to win will be far worse. >> the stakes are high for both. i actually think there's a higher upside and downside for biden to be honest. there's so much riding on him. the concern for biden obviously, you see it in the jokes, is he up to it? does he have the energy and the stamina? think if he comes up very short it's going to be devastating. i think oddly enough, his crazedy is more built in. if he's meandering, if he's crazy and says ridiculous things, for some reason it doesn't have as devastating effect as what seems to be biden's achilles heel so there's a lot at stake for both of them. biden needs -- i think if biden does great, it's going to be amazing. i think if he does poorly it's going to be really, really hurtful for him. a more up and down side for biden. >> claire, let's remind, of course, in 2020 biden bested trump both times in their debates. the first one famously so when trump was angry and sweaty and kept interrupting him and it turned out it was likely positive for covid. the diagnosis came a couple of days later. what are some of your expectations for this debate? how huge do you think the stakes are? >> i think it's pretty big. i mean, if you are into presidential politics this is the super bowl on steroids. it is a big deal. now, i do think that biden has a secret advantage. it's not secret though. that is that donald trump has been saying for months he can't even walk or talk. there have never been expectations set as lowly as the expectations or lower -- the expectations that have been set for biden. you know, in fact, even trump realizes he's got a problem because i think he said the other day on a podcast. that biden is a worthy debater which, of course, is like what? i thought that this is the guy who can't function, who has to have, you know, and so i do think that if biden comes out and is aggressive, what he says is not as important as how he says, it and he's got to be a street fighter, but he's comfortable doing that. he is comfortable. he's, you know, scrappy joe from scranton can come out and throw haymakers because deep down or maybe not so deep down he doesn't respect trump, and he will have no problem i think going after him with hammer and tongs and that's what he's got to do. >> the odd thing about this debate is both of the candidates want the other candidate to be entirely themselves. >> right. >> and the most kind of extreme version of themselves and that's the aim for them both, right? the biden camp was -- liked the idea of trump's mic being muted. they pushed for that format. do you think there's a world in which that's not necessarily the most advantageous format for them because actually trump lost that early 2020 debate. it wasn't even a debate i still have ptsd from that debate. >> the too soon, too soon. >> he jumped in too much, too aggressive. interrupted too much. >> it's a really good insight. where do you find the line between exposing trump's true self and not having such a free for all that the whole thing becomes forgettable because it's such an "s" show. i won't say the whole word. do you lose the possibility of exposing trump because you lose the mic so you lose some of his most crazy comments or asides? that's a real possibility, but it goes to the heart of this entire campaign. i can't recall covering a presidential campaign or even reading about one where each campaign wanted the race to be about the other person. >> so much. >> most candidates and their strategists covet attention and want the race to be about them. they want to control the message. i mean, the end goal for both of these candidates, and they would never admit this out loud, they want to make it about the other guy because the best path to victory is making it about the other guys. >> i've heard this from both sides f.biden doesn't have a good night, how much anxiety is there going to be in democratic circles? >> i don't think that the richter scale is capable of measuring that. i think it would go off the charts. in part because there's so much time, right? we're going into july here and so there's sort of waves of anxiety would be felt all summer, like waves crashing in, you know, like every day on the beach. it would be hard to dissipate, and it would also rates question would trump do a second debate if it was that bad? obviously they would want one to clean it up but would trump give them that? >> look, the speculation about biden being replaced which still exists by the way in a lot of swamps on the right, it's really hard to see absent a health issue because biden doesn't walk away there. he's nobody in the party that's going to make him. >> yeah. that talk of biden leaving is non-sense short as you said, j. martin, some sort of a health issue. as you said, there's so much focus on biden needing a strong performance, but donald trump also, as we have been talking about here for months and months, is not the same guy in 2020. he's also aged. a few years younger than pbld. he's shown real signs of slippage at times, harder to stay coherent in his thoughts. isn't that a possible outcome, too, that it's trump that comes out of there having a terrible night? >> yes, but also it's so built in that trump is going to say crazy insane things and is capable of doing completely insane things, you know. you look at some of his antics back in 2016 in bringing bill clinton accusers to the debate against little -- hillary clinton. he'll relish in his attacks against hunter biden trying to get under joe biden's skin so americans are used to seeing him at just his most base terrible raw self and joe biden has, unfortunately,ed a hoard to the higher standard as being seen as presidential. >> debate prep fully under way looking different on boast side but it is under way. let's switch gears. a group of senate democrats are setting their sights on a bill from the 1870s as a next possible way to protect reproductive rights. the comstock act bans mailing lewd, obscene or abortion-producing materials. lawmakers say it could be used to stop the distribution of the abortion pill mifepristone. in a statement democrat tina smith wrote in a statement, quote, now that trump has overturned roe, a future republican administration could misapply this 150-year-old comstock law to deny american women their rights, even in states where abortion rights are protected by law, but unlike other reproductive rights efforts, not all democrats are backing this one. reportedly fearing that shining a light on the law would legitimize the idea of using it. senate majority leader chuck schumer dodged the question when asked last week if he supported the measure. >> will democrats move next, now that you've done ivf and birth control, will you move next on the comstock act, and should it be amended so that it doesn't apply abortion? >> look, we moved forward this week on contraception and this week on ivf, and you'll be hearing more from us on reproductive rights in the near future. >> the biden administration also does not view the law as a threat. the justice department wrote in 2022 that the comstock act would not prevent the mailing of abortion pilots. the heritage foundation wrote in its project 2025 plan for a future trump administration that he should use the law. claire, the idea that there is something that democrats should be protecting but not talking about because then republicans might notice it just seems a little fanciful for me. i mean, this is a world in which everybody is looking at every possible tool they can use to achieve their ends. the idea that the comstock act has gone under the radar doesn't seem to fly to me. >> yeah. i don't really get that, and it's pretty clear to me that the extreme movement of the republican party around this issue is not going anywhere. they have a huge part of the republican party has been the overturning of row, and that energy and those networks aren't stopping now. they are not going to stop until they get a nationwide ban. i don't think they are going to stop until they really wipe out ivf. they clearly in my state, the law as written, would in fact say that anybody who is using ivf and an egg that had been fertilized was destroyed. that in fact would be unlawful in my state because there's no exceptions and life begins at conception. they are not stopping, and i think it's probably a good idea to highlight that even this arcane law that i agree probably wouldn't apply, but that doesn't mean that they won't try, and it doesn't mean that we shouldn't pay attention to it. everyone needs to realize this threat is not going anywhere, and i think it's important for this election cycle for people to think oh, done and dusted. it's over. it's legal in my state. what do i have to worry about? >> and, of course, on the issue of reproductive rights, this monday will be the two-year anniversary of the dobbs decision, and on that day vice president kamala harris will be our guest here on "morning joe" sitting down with mika for an exclusive interview. you won't want to miss that. that is monday. donny, as we take about this elect day in and day out, it's helpful to remind ourselves even though it's not part of the daily conversation, abortion rights, reproductive rights, abortion health care is a massive, massive issue this time around and one basically undefeated at the ballot box since the dobbs decision. democrats have won time and again vowing to try to protect the reproductive rights. what should the messaging be? how front and center should it be for democrats between now and november? >> it should be center. i like to think of it prongs as the overall umbrella as safety versus danger. if you sell safety, biden is about safety, safety for a woman to protect her reproductive rights, safety against the killing of democracy, safety against taking your health care away. abortion is one of the prongs to set up biden as the safe choice versus a dangerous choice. donald trump is dangerous to you if you want to protect your reproductive rights. it's dangerous to you if you're worried about protecting democracy or if you're worried about bringing back the insurrection act and having the military turn against it. make it danger versus safety and abortion is one of the leading prongs of that. >> if some candidates, as you are writing about, glenn youngkin, we watched what happened to glenn youngkin who was the darling of the republican party. he was the guy that everybody wanted to run, and then abortion played into that defeat in the mid-terms in virginia in those special elections in virginia and they lost the legislature thumb. >> yeah. i think a lot of youngkin's appeal as a late entry into the presidential race last year was in fact based on the legislative races in virginia and the idea of can this candidate model an approach on abortion for the republican party to address an issue that's really been hurting him at the ballot box since dobbs, and obviously it didn't go well by last november and by then it was probably moot anyways because trump was obviously surging and was untouchable in the race. but, yeah, youngkin is just the latest example of a republican who has tried to figure out a way to address the issue by, you know, coming to some -- i think it was sort of a 15-week restriction and it -- and it wasn't that effective or it wasn't effective enough to help him save control of their own majority. >> interesting politician, saw him campaigning during the mid-term elections and he was kind of playing this sort of double game going out and endorsing kari lake in arizona, flirting with the maga crowd. >> sure. >> but also trying to win the suburbs of northern virginia. >> right. >> do you think he is somebody who still has a political future in a post-trump world? >> look. that's the price of admission in today's republican party even for somebody who obviously in glenn youngkin would be much more comfortable in the pre-trump version of the party, upbeat, sunny, optimistic kind of guy. he's got to live in the party today if he has aspirations, and that's been a real challenge for him in sort of a blue/purple state of virginia. you're trying to retain your national aspirations and govern a state that's basically an away game policeically, and that's why i think he's struggled, but he does have a real ability to relate. he's a charming guy. as ron desantis proved that can be helpful in pollics to have that ability, so i think he doll still have a real future. we'll see if he'll get a gig in a trump administration if trump wins and then beyond that. the question though where is the gop in '28 and '32? what kind of party is this going to be post-trump? will it be a party that's open for a guy like youngkin or not? that will kind of shape his fortunes. >> j. mart, elise here, big picture. >> yeah. >> what state are you watching in this election. what state do you see as the must win for whoever gets the presidency? >> well, can i give you two? >> go on. we're generous on "morning joe." >> i don't want to pick my favorites. >> i think wisconsin and michigan are the two states that i come back to time and time again because they are the closest states to dead center on the political map, and they are frankly the states that biden needs and he can't win the election if he doesn't have those two states. they are also the elections that have i think, elise, so much of the broader american electorate in terms of the kind of voters who are going to shape this election, sanburnanites who used to be republicans, disaffected college students who are kind of down. working class, black and white alike, who are really going to be hotly pursued. it's all the in wisconsin and michigan, so a lot of badger and wolverine time this fall. >> almost impossible to see biden have a path to the presidency without a path to those states and perhaps possibly pennsylvania. >> thanks for being with us. >> donny, final word to you. >> you were talking about a slip of the tongue which biden was talking about with nuclear weapons. i'm going to go bang to my danger thing. put that on the table. talked about that, the barry goldwater ad with the daisy. do you want this man with his hand on the button? keep making trump about abortion, whether it's about abortion, about democracy or his handling of nuclear weapons. danger, will robinson, and for you who don't remember that that was something for "lost in space." danger will robinson, danger donald trump. >> all right. donny deutsch with a timely pop culture reference. we appreciate it. good to see you. coming up here on "morning joe," we'll take a look at the morning's papers, where we're learning new details about what happened after a man hacked a major georgia hospital. plus, we're going to speak with the democratic mayor of kansas city and republican mayor david holt of oklahoma city on the issues facing their cities ahead of this election. and also ahead, three-time olympic medalist lindsey vaughn and two-time world champion mike buckley will be live in us in studio to preview a big race in new york this weekend. you're watching "morning joe." we'll be right back. g "morning " we'll be right back. 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"the baltimore sun" says that some of the crew members that crashed into the scott key bridge can return to their home country. the crew has been stuck on the ship for 12 weeks because of lawsuits filed over that crash. ten people can return home as long as they come back for any depositions. "the chicago tribune" is highlighting new research that shows more children in illinois are being exposed to edible cannabis. last year over 200 cases of kids ingesting the drug were reported to the state's poison center. in 2019 before marijuana was legalized in illinois, there were only 37 cases. experts say that children can easily mistake edible cannabis products for treats since they often come in the form of candy or gummies. wamp out for your kids. "the atlanta journal constitution" leads with the sentencing of a cyber security professional who hacked a major hospital in georgia. according to police, the man shut down hospital phone systems, took over hundreds of printers and stole personal information from more than 300 patients who then was fined thousands of dollars. sundance film festival which has been held in park city, utah, for the next couple of years announced it's considering moving its festival in 2027. in his proposal, colorado governor jarred polis offered them a $1.5 million grant to come to boulder saying he hopes to keep the festival in the mountain west region for another ten years. good luck to them >> indeed. let's move on to this now. the 92nd annual united states conference of mayors meeting is happening right now in kansas city, missouri. the bipartisan group of mayors from over 200 cities from across the country are meeting to discuss a range of issues including homelessness, gun advance and how to navigate the 2024 election. the goal of the group is to engage directly with leaders from washington to ensure that federal policies address the priorities of cities nationwide. joining us now the mayor of kansas city, missouri, democrat quinton lewis and the mayor of oklahoma city, republican david hold. he is the second vice president for the u.s. conference of mayors. mayor holt, let's start with you. it is notably bipartisan move hadn't here at a time when that's pretty rare in this nation's politics. talk about why that's so pressing and the one of the issues that the cities across the country face. >> thanks for having us on. i'm speaking to you from kansas city with my colleague here mayor lucas. he's a democrat and i'm a republican an as you say that's pretty unique but we mayors think of ourselves as being pretty unique. we work together. we have, you know, an unbreakable bipartisan bond. we fight for cities and, you know, the issues we care about right now are homelessness, gun violence, mental health, infrastructure, economy and education, the basic thing, the issue matrix that all americans should be passionate about and all state and federal candidates this election year should be passionate about. we think we practice politics in a different way than people do at other levels of government. we think we just try to get things done and we bring people together in our communities regardless of their party registration to do that so we do pride ourselves or our bipartisanship, and we recognize that's kind of different in the current political environment, but we -- we think that that's what makes us special and we think we're frank lit best class of political leaders in this country right now, and we're gettings things done in our cities. >> mayor lucas, a question for you from someone who knows missouri politics well, claire mcas still. good morning, clinton. rather than talk about our world champion chiefs or how well the royals are do, i want to focus on something that may blow up a little bit of the bipartisan nature of this appearance, and that is the hypocrisy that you see across the country in red states where state legislatures who like to say that local is best and local government should control your own destinies, i know you've battled with the missouri legislature that wants to come in over your shoulder and tell you what you can and cannot do in kansas city, understanding that just like most states in missouri the economic engine of our state is kansas city and st. louis. urban areas make up over 80% of the gdp in america, and so what are the strategies you're using with this really extreme group of republican legislatures that want to paint along with their candidate for president the urban areas as hellscapes? >> well, claire, if you keep talking like that, i would say you should run for office again because you hit the nail on the head. >> no. >> and it's -- and it's something, frankly, that came up yesterday in our discussion. the political independent mayor of reno, nevada, was talking about ways to address gun violence, and she mentioned in her list of things gun buybacks being a reasonable tool. she looked at me and i said, well, frankly we can't do it in missouri because the missouri legislature has preempt the the opportunity for cities that have addressed gun violence each day to address these tools. if they are being on most senator mcaskill points, you have republican mayors, democrats and independents around the country saying just let us solve the issues in our city. we are coming together to address things like homelessness. we are coming together to address things like gun violence, and repeatedly what are you seeing is state legislatures saying we can do better. it's the most interesting thing because often people will run campaigns against your cities and then they want control of absolutely everything they are doing otherwise. >> i'm going to go to mayor holt with a question. we're burying the lead a little bit because you have huge new on twitter, a new baby to welcome so congratulations to, your wife and your family. what has really been the top issue and solutions frankly that have been proposed when it comes to the homelessness and housing crisis that some cities around the country are grappling with this year? >> yeah. certainly great question, and by the way, one quick thing. if senator mcaskill feared she would drive a wedge between us on the question of local question. our bipartisan remains strong on that issue. republican mayors feel the same way. we believe those decisions are best made locally. to the question of homelessness. this is one of the most vexing issues because there's so many tensions inherent in the american experiment. you know, it's a free country and i always say i'm a law school dean. mayor lucas is a law school professor. we understand that that has some serious legal underpinnings, and it means that you've got to really have a lot of options and kind of meet people where they are, and i think, you know, one could talk about this for an hour, but, you know, i think if you look to cities like houston. that's where -- >> oh, we've lost the mayor's feed there, but let's go to you, mayor lucas, to give you the final word leer. this is obviously a contentious election year. we spent time earlier in the show about how donald trump, republican nominee for president, often demonizes big cities in this country, particularly those that is are run by african american mayors or have large black populations. what can be done right now to just sort of combat that rhetoric with, you know, doing it with statistics or the rest? how do you sort of change the image that some americans have unfairly of our nation's big cities? >> i think you have to push back, and you have to answer. yesterday i spent time with the mayor of milwaukee, wisconsin, a black mayor, a democrat, who said i'm from milwaukee and i'm proud pushing back against president trump who will be in milwaukee in just several weeks. in your earlier conversation, you talked about some of the craziness and how that is baked in to the trump era and everything that is donald trump. i think it's important and vital for cities and particularly mayors to say, no. we are not dumpster fires. we are exception a.m. places. we are places that can attract world cups like my city or conferences of mayors or the republican national convention like milwaukee, and so i think when you are talking about cities like milwaukee, detroit, grand rapids, so many others, particularly in swing states but all of them, we say we are coming up with solutions to america's real problems, vastly more than you're seeing from state legislatures, and i'll say with respect vastly more than perhaps the ravings at times of our former president. >> mayor holt, have our shot back. want to give you a chance to finish your shot. >> i don't know if i lodge my complaints with the mayor or with the hotel itself. we'll work on that locally. i want to say with homelessness. you've got to meet people where they are and we in oklahoma city are looking at houston as a great model. the question is what is maybe one of the best solutions for that, and we feel like you've got to come into these encampments with all the wrap-around services that are necessary, whether that's mental health, substance abuse, job training services, obviously housing the most important thing. that's very expensive though. i mean, really cole vinagre the problem section pensive, and that's what people want, and i find that that's where you have common ground on the left and right on the issue of homelessness is everybody wants these people off the streets, and you've got to dedicate some resources to it and you also obviously have to work on the overall issue of affordable housing in your community. it's a very complex issue and it's not easy. if it were'sy it would have been solved already. mayors are the at the tip of the sphere and we're at places like this sharing our best practices with each other. >> really important work being done. kansas city, missouri mayor quinton lewis and oklahoma city mayor david holt, our thanks to you both. >> thank you. coming up here on "morning joe," a relatively new league will take over new york harbor this weekend. sail gp features high speed racing and intense competition. joining us next to preview the big race are co-owner and member of the u.s. sail gt team mike buckley and three-time olympic medalist lindsey von who is on the team's directors. "morning joe" will be right back with that. directors "morning joe" will be ghrit back with that. com, it's easy to get a break, even if you're not on summer vacation. join millions of families who've trusted us and find caregivers in your area for kids, seniors, pets, and homes. go to care.com now to find the care you need this summer. ♪♪ jardiance! -it's a little pill with a ♪♪ ♪♪ big story to tell. ♪♪ ♪♪ i take once-daily jardiance ♪♪ ♪♪ at each day's staaart. ♪♪ ♪♪ as time went on it was easy to seeee, ♪♪ ♪♪ i'm lowering my a1c! ♪♪ jardiance works twenty-four seven in your body to flush out some sugar. and for adults with type 2 diabetes and known heart disease, jardiance can lower the risk of cardiovascular death, too. serious side effects may include ketoacidosis that may be fatal, dehydration that can lead to sudden worsening of kidney function, and genital yeast or urinary tract infections. a rare, life-threatening bacterial infection in the skin of the perineum could occur. stop taking jardiance and call your doctor right away if you have symptoms of this infection, ketoacidosis, or an allergic reaction. you may have an increased risk for lower limb loss. call your doctor right away if you have symptoms of infection in your legs or feet. taking jardiance with a sulfonylurea or insulin may cause low blood sugar. ♪♪ jardiance is really swell ♪♪ ♪♪ the little pill with a big story to tell! ♪♪ some people just know that the best rate for you is a rate based on you, with allstate. because you... you are not doing this. save with drivewise and get a rate based on you. you're in good hands with allstate. >> as they come to the finish line, who will have the pressure to win it? as they come up. look how close this is. >> new zealand, they have to keep clear of australia and canada on the outside where they should have a penalty. >> canada crosses the line, and now who turns the boat, it looks like the emirates' woody mullen will go the way of the kiwis. >> a dramatic finish to the race in abu dhabi earlier this year. moments like that one are why the international competition is gaining boat loads of fans, sorry about, that including many here in the united states. this weekend the league's fourth season will hold the penultimate event with ten countries vying for the spot in next month's final. joining us now ceo and co-owner of the sail gpt team mike buckley and three-time olympic medalist in skiing lindsey von who recently joined the board of directors. thanks for being here. mike, let's start with you. first in new york city, what is this going to look like in new york city? >> it's going to be amazing, no better city in the world to bring our sport and our league here to new york city with the skyline, the energy and the city was out there yesterday, i mean, training. it was awesome, right. the ferries were packed watching us race around. our sport now has changed. boats go 60 miles per hour. it's, you know, it's different. it's truly racing, and i think it's going to be a heck of a show for the people in new york. >> lindsey, you've in some ways are representative, you've joined the team here, sort of underscores the rise in popularity in the sport. like it's really taking off. why do you think it's connecting with so many people? >> sailing has been around for sail gt is a league and similar to skiing it takes being on television and having the kind of resources that mike is bringing into the sport to be more popular and these new boats going 60 miles per hour. i personally love speed so the faster they go the more exciting so it's not a wonder to me why everyone loves this short, but i think people are just kind of catching on. >> you have started to sail a bit i believe, mike, and you are the chief strategist this weekend. >> yeah, and we're going to take her for a ride this afternoon. she's going to jump in across from one of our other teammates anna weiss and hopefully the wind gods are with us. >> how long does it take from start to finish? >> the races are about 15 minutes. >> oh, wow. >> so they are pretty quick by design so we do multiple races every day, but, you know, it's a quick, high adrenaline race. >> wow. >> and this is the league in its fourth season right now. ten nations represented in the competition this weekend, including great britain. >> yeah. not doing too badly. i never understand how switzerland makes it into these races because there's not a lot of throws. >> we were talking adrenaline when i last saw you and wondering if this is your next adrenaline fix. >> i'm excited to be out on the boat this afternoon. when i went with america's cup six years ago they were going half the speed so this is much more up my alley. i won't be a grinder any time soon and anna will show me the ropes and i'm looking forward to it. one of the coolest things for me is being part of a co-ed sport. it's the only global sports league that has men and women competing together and against each other so i'm really excited about it. >> it's interesting because i know there's a push to get more women into sailing. it has traditionally been seen as quite a male sport. what's changing? is it the technology behind the boats that makes it easier for men and women to compete together? what is it that's made the difference? >> listen, our sport has a long way to go, right, to kind of catch up and, you know, the leaders of our sport have recognized, you know, for the last few years like, hey, we've got to make some changes, you know, and we believe that diversity is a competitive advantage, right, and so our team is all about that, and, you know, anna is the only woman that's a grinder which is the most physical role on the boat, and i think she's going to -- just like lindsey did on a mountain she will inspire women, young women, to say i can do whatever the heck i want. it's going to take some time, but you've got to start somewhere and we've started. >> so very important. also important how sustainability and clean energy is part of what the league is all about. >> yeah. the league is the most sustainable, you know, global league out there right now. they go to great lengths to, you know, make sure that everything we do, our travel, what we eat, you know, what we're drinking, all that sort of stuff is all tracked, and we have an impact league so all the teams actually can compete off the water, and sustainability is one of the pillars of that impact league so, yeah, it's impressive. they go -- they spend so much time and energy making sure that we're all following the rules and we're trying to do our best. >> a quick look at the standings. new zealand currently in first place followed by spain and then australia. the united states has some work to do. there are still some tickets available for this weekend's sailing grand prix competition in new york city. check it out. appreciate you being here, two-time world sailing champion mike buckley and three-time olympic medallist lindsey vonn. >> coming up, the stars of the new film "despicable me 4." more "morning joe" coming right up. e 4. more "morning joe" coming right up get one free. just scan the qr code and enter promo code flbogo. it only works from the other side of the screen, buddy. you still got a land line in your house. order now in the subway app. hi, i'm michael, i've lost 62 pounds on golo yand i have kept it off.e in your house. most of the weight that i gained was strictly in my belly which is a sign of insulin resistance. but since golo, that weight has completely gone away, as you can tell. thanks to golo and release, i've got my life and my health back. her uncle's unhappy. i'm sensing an underlying issue. it's t-mobile. it started when we tried to get him under a new plan. but they they unexpectedly unraveled their “price lock” guarantee. which has made him, a bit... unruly. you called yourself the “un-carrier”. you sing about “price lock” on those commercials. “the price lock, the price lock...” so, if you could change the price, change the name! it's not a lock, i know a lock. so how can we undo the damage? we could all unsubscribe and switch to xfinity. their connection is unreal. and we could all un-experience this whole session. okay, that's uncalled for. the white house and israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu continue to spar over claims the united states has withheld arms from the country. this as the israeli leader is facing growing calls to end the war and secure the release of the remaining hostages. nbc news foreign correspondent matt bradley has the latest from tel aviv. >> reporter: american officials firing back as the diplomatic dispute between the biden administration and israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu continues. >> i didn't know what the prime minister was talking about or what he was trying to accomplish, and i'm happy to make the record clear. >> white house officials still visibly annoyed by a video released by israeli prime minister netanyahu on tuesday scolding the administration for what he said were delays in american weapons deliveries. >> it's deliveries. >> it's inconceivable that in the past few months, the administration has been withholding weapons. >> reporter: netanyahu still not backing down. this time writing on x, formerly known as twitter, i'm willing to absorb personal attacks if that's what it takes for israel to get the arms and ammunition it needs in its war for survival. but netanyahu faces his fiercest resistance at home, where families of dozens of hostages still being held in the gaza strip are raising pressure with a week of protests. one of them will celebrate her 20th birthday tomorrow in captivity. this year her brother's wishes for her birthday are modest. >> the most basic, basic needs, like, she would have something to eat on her birthday. that maybe she has a friend or two around her. >> reporter: images of nama bruised and bloody have made her a symbol of the horrors young women have endured at the hands of hamas. it's difficult for her brother to watch. >> i woke up this morning and i don't know how she woke up, and i don't know if she even slept. i don't know what maybe these awful human beings that did awful things might still be doing these awful things, and sometimes it's really hard for me to breathe. >> it's so hard. that was nbc's matt bradley reporting. meanwhile, netanyahu is still expected to address a joint session of congress next month, but another high-profile democrat is now boycotting the speech. senator elizabeth warren of massachusetts made the announcement yesterday, telling the hill that netanyahu has created a, quote, humanitarian disaster. claire, how do democrats navigate this with netanyahu coming to a lot of opposition to what he's doing in israel, and also not wanting to turn very publicly and refute america's closest ally? >> well, i got to say this is a nest that netanyahu has built. starting back in 2015, when i was painfully -- had a front row to netanyahu turn the support of israel into a partisan issue. that has -- it has never been a partisan issue until benjamin netanyahu made it. he has done more to destroy the bipartisan support of israel than any leader in israel's history. so listen. i'm not sure that boycotting his speech does a lot, but i certainly understand why democrats should be highly critical. i mean, for netanyahu to criticize biden after what biden has worked to provide that country in their hour of need, and what netanyahu has refused to do in terms of humanitarian aid and frankly, even keeping a war cabinet together that had some moderates in it. this guy is captured by the far-right in israel and israel's playing -- paying a very dear price for it on the global stage. >> white house aides told me all week they're baffled and frustrated by that netanyahu video, insisting it was that one shipment of heavy bombs that the president sidelined. they continue to send more things to israel frequently, and they're concerned as to what netanyahu might do, elise, about a month from now in congress. to claire's point in 2015, he gave an address to congress that alienated the obama white house at the time, and there's concern he may do so again. >> and no. netanyahu has just been taunting biden almost. english language message just to decry biden and his -- the lack of swiftness on aid which has been flowing, gushing without question pretty much? and then he also gave an interview with -- with punch bowl today and, you know, he wasn't walking back anything about his comments, and so he really is just being defiant, and it's unfortunate for biden because it makes him look weak when you have your ally challenging you like that on the public state -- on the public stage and not looking like they're showing any gratitude. can you imagine if zelenskyy acted this way about aid to ukraine? that aid spigot would be shut off immediately. >> yeah. no question. the frustration level is just only growing here as to what's happening, and there are some in the white house who believe that not only is it in netanyahu's best interest to keep the war going, but he could put his thumb on the scale to get donald trump back in office this november. coming up here on "morning joe," we are less than one week away from the highly anticipated debate between president biden and donald trump. we'll go through new reporting on how each of the candidates are preparing and who is supposed to get the last word. that's straight ahead here on "morning joe." word. that's straight ahead here on "morning joe." the first presidential debate is just one week away. forget the debate. i say we put them both in a hammock and the first one to stand up is our next president, okay? [ applause ] >> biden has secluded himself at camp david where he's preparing for this battle like rocky balboa, getting ready, and trump is deciding whether to go with the scented aquanet or unscented. biden is at camp david where his debate prep will likely be fueled by his favorite drink, orange gatorade. which explains this new ad. ♪♪ >> is it in you? >> yes. [ laughter ] >> good. good. i'm glad. you' got to stay hydrated. you've got to stay hydrated. >> i like orange gatorade too. lemon lime, probably my favorite flavor. >> oh. i'm a blue one. blue for me. >> i like the blue. i'll say this. in wilmington, delaware there's a store near where his transition headquarters was so i spent a lot of time there in the fall and winter of 2020, and there was a store that sold souvenir-scented candles, and the scent was orange gatorade. his love for gatorade is well known, and as you heard from the comics, both campaigns are in prep mode before their showdown in atlanta. we'll go through the strategies for both president biden and his challenger, donald trump. and speaking of the former president, there is now reporting on alarming comments he made about the use of nuclear weapons, and could today be the day we finally get a ruling on trump's immunity claim? the supreme court is expected to release more decisions later this morning, and katty, as we heard from legal experts on this show yesterday, the delay in many ways is the decision. we might hear from them today on the immunity case. it might spill into next week, but because it has taken them so long, there is little to no chance that the january 6th federal trial can even happen before the election. many feel, and democrats feel for sure that the court has already put their thumb on the scale. >> i think we're inching into the no chance realm, aren't we? that seems to be the consensus of most lawyers and it's not that chief justice roberts is going to go to members of the supreme court on the bench and say, look. can you hurry this up? that's not the way that i'm told the supreme court works. so if there are justices who want this to be delayed, then they can slowwalk this one. let's see if we get it today. everybody is waiting. for the first time in months, joe biden has taken over donald trump in national poll averages. according to fivethirtyeight, biden took a 0.1% lead. that is the first time since march, as far back as the poll goes. the polls show biden narrowly ahead of trump, though all those results were within the margin of error. trump has continued to lead in swing state polls most recently within the margin of error. meanwhile while president biden traveled to camp david, he will spend the next few days there preparing for the upcoming presidential debate. the plan is for biden to remain at camp david until monday, or longer if he needs to as the june 27th debate draws closer. it will likely include full-length mock debates. the president is gearing up to hold donald trump accountable for his extreme record and the dangerous things he's been saying on the trail, namely ripping away reproductive rights, promoting political violence, undermining our democratic institutions, and doing the bidding of his billionaire donors to fund tax giveaways to the ultra wealthy and corporations. so we know that joe biden is preparing to have a fairly conventional debate prep session. from my understanding from talking to the trump campaign, i'm sure you're hearing the same thing. that is not necessarily the case with donald trump. >> the words conventional and trump rarely end up in the same sentence together. on the biden side, we showed an image of him flashing a thumbs up. that was in response to a question asking how the debate was going. that's all he had to say and really it was just a hand gesture, and they're being tight-lipped as to how this is going to go, but his former chief of staff and a veteran of democratic presidential debate prep is part of the team there at camp david. bob bower, he will be there as well, and they're going to go through and prepare the president for what will be likely deeply personal attacks from donald trump, including against -- about hunter biden. they encourage him to of course, retain the presidential field, but flashing a little temper i'm told. not a bad thing. it's going to be humanizing. i think that's a thing that will connect a lot of voters particularly whose own fans have struggles with addiction. while donald trump and his team have long downplayed that he does any formal debate prep at all, trump, well, he's not exactly winging it. he's been holding informal policy sessions where he discussed topics that will likely come up. issues the trump campaign has maintained are notable weaknesses for president biden. we're told here at nbc that he discussed the economy and inflation with senator jd vance, immigration with stephen miller and former acting i.c.e. head, tom homan. he talked to ric grenell on national security. he also spent time with marco rubio and eric schmitt. he's planning a debate watch party in atlanta which is set to be attended by several allies and vice presidential hopefuls. what is clear is that debate next thursday, a huge early moment in this race. to talk about it, we're lucky to have former aid to the george w. bush white house, elise jordan, pulitzer prize-winning journalist, and msnbc political analyst, eugene robinson, and deputy managing editor for politico, sam stein. you saw him host "way too early," and do so adeptly, i might add. that will be the last compliment he gets from me today. eugene, let's talk about this debate, you know, both camps are being pretty tight-lipped as to how they're going to prepare. you don't want to tip your hand to the other side, but before we get to the nitty-gritty, let's get to the stakes. why does next week matter so much? >> this is balanced on a knife edge. you went through the polling, you know, biden having inched ahead in polls that have been within the margin of error for a long time. the state polls still showing trump with a lead. this is -- it's such a close rate that anything -- any moment when the two are together and you can compare them side by side, potentially has a huge impact on which way this thing is going to go because it's going to go, you know, obviously one way or the other. so it's a really, really big moment. i think the biden camp really sees it as an opportunity to for the first time, really get the american people to focus on this stark choice, and i think the trump team, you know, feels he can kind of pour it on in the way he tries to pour it on. it's going to be fascinating and it's also a weird format, right? no audience. there won't be any cheering. the mics will be muted. so what i'm looking for is whether any sort of back and forth between the two of them is allowed and we will see. >> certainly there's a sense that -- biden really pushed for it, no crowd because trump plays off the crowd so well. he'll be deprived of that. there was a coin flip yesterday and the biden team won the coin flip, picked which podium to have, as opposed to the ability to go last. so eugene's point, the biden camp, we can tell how important they think this moment is when they wanted to have it. june, the earliest we have had a general election debate in decades because they need to remind americans this is the choice. they need to remind americans this is who donald trump is, and who he will be again. >> well, the biden campaign needs to set the narrative early that biden is competent and capable to lead going forward, and he absolutely cannot have a senior moment at this debate. that's what i heard from -- i was in wisconsin and michigan two weeks ago for a lot of focus groups and what i heard from voters, democrats who support biden is just that they're going to be watching, and they want to make sure he's up to the task. they might still be planning to vote for him, but he's still there, uncomfortable about the agent. there's an albatross that's hanging around this campaign. >> as we were saying about that coin flip, we know who will have if last word, and according to cnn's biden's campaign won that coin flip. he opted for the right hand podium, and he'll be on the right side of your screen next week. the podium positions will be identical to the candidates' placements during both of the 2020 debates. trump's team chose to get the last word in marking the first of their debate matchups in which trump will deliver the final statement. he did interrupt biden's closing remarks back in september of 2020 debate so you may remember that. sam -- >> yes? >> there is jujitsu around debates. i don't know it makes a ton of difference who stands where or, you know, who has the very last word. one thing i'm hearing from the trump campaign is they think they need to warn him to watch his facial expressions because whilst his microphone will be muted, while we look at the screen, they'll be on a split screen. we'll still see donald trump's reactions to what joe biden is saying. i don't know how weird that's going to be for the audience if donald trump or joe biden is trying to interrupt and it's on mute. >> right. >> but i guess the person on the stage will be able to hear. is there a chance that even though he's muted, donald trump's even facial expressions or interruptions will still be heard? >> will he be picked up almost on joe biden's mic? >> yeah. >> probably, right? and if anything is -- >> or is presumably joe biden will hear it? >> if past is prologue, i assume that trump will be unable to stop himself from interrupting, right? >> right. >> so it could create this weird image or moment where you can hear him sort of in the background and you're wondering what he's saying and joe biden's, you know, distracted by it. i think ultimately your first point is the valid one, is this is a visual experience for people as much as it is an audible experience for people, and by that i mean, with biden, everyone knows, like, will he come out of this night looking spritish, looking like someone who can handle another four years in office, dispelling the concerns around his strength in stamina? with trump, it's somewhat related, but not the same which is, will he come off looking more grounded and sane? or will he be this kind of rabid caricature of an ex-president we've come to be accustomed to? so i think for that reason, this debate matters. it's a visual experience, and that's been true sort of historically, right? back to kennedy/nixon, it was sort of just looking at these two men and who was young, who was up and coming versus who had that 5:00 shadow. >> nixon won on the radio, but kennedy won on television. >> exactly. coming up, we're learning disturbing new details about a conversation between donald trump with the former governor of puerto rico on the heels of hurricane maria. we'll dig into those remarks. and also ahead this morning, my conversation can megastar steve carell, kristen wiig, and will ferrell about the franchise "despicable me." "morning joe" will be right back with that. e me." "morning joe" will be right back with that. have heart failure with unresolved symptoms? it may be time to see the bigger picture. heart failure and seemingly unrelated symptoms like carpal tunnel syndrome, shortness of breath, and irregular heartbeat could mean something more serious, called attr-cm a rare, underdiagnosed disease that worsens over time. sound like you? call your cardiologist and ask about attr-cm. the former governor of puerto rico reportedly says that trump talked to him about preparing for nuclear war while he was president. according to the hill which has obtained an excerpt for an upcoming memoir by the governor. he says trump visited puerto rico in 2017 while overseeing the storm's damage, he told the ex-governor, quote, nature has a way of coming back. well, it does until it doesn't. who knows with nuclear warfare what will happen? trump then allegedly added, quote, i tell you what. if nuclear war happens, we won't be second in line pressing the button. a campaign trump spokesperson did not deny that the former president made those remarks, but said he abhors the idea of this kind of war. it seems the governor is to believe that trump brought this up out of nowhere. there's been other reporting he has a preoccupation with these types of weapons. this seems like another moment to remind americans -- >> yeah. >> -- to just, you know, what those four years were like. >> what those four years were like, and remind americans that that comes with the job, right? that comes with the presidency. you have the nuclear suitcase trailing you around and you can push the button, and i think, you know, so when we talk about this, i think people need to realize that you're enrusting this vast power to one of theiss -- entrusting this vast power to one of these two men, and you can say while both have successfully managed not to get us into nuclear war during their presidential terms, nonetheless, it does focus you on the stability and frankly the sanity of the two candidates, and, you know, while there are crises going on, there can be a real crisis. you look at russia and north korea, this closer relationship, what russia potentially is going to do to help north korea better its nuclear program so the north koreans could hit any u.s. city potentially, which they can't do now. what does a u.s. president do then? and that's a very real possibility. so who do you want, you know, at the helm? >> no. this is a continuation of trump's fascination with nuclear power. he's long fancied himself to be some nuclear specialist because he had an uncle who was some kind of scientist. >> at m.i.t. >> m.i.t., and she's talked about it since the '80s and he's bragged -- he would be -- he scared countless journalists and talking off the record and saying, nuclear -- mattis says nuclear is really bad. it's nothing after nuclear. >> b minus trump impersonator. >> i'm not that good, but it seems to have a little bit of understanding that it causes widespread decimation and destruction, but he still just doesn't grasp that, and it shows his fundamental instability and that he is crazy which is what voters judge him on versus biden and his age, and not being -- judging his mental acuity, and trump's is mental acuity of the other side of the coin that he's never possessed, and so anything that the biden campaign can do to draw that out and draw out the existential stakes of trump having the button, that's a good thing for the biden campaign. coming up, the democratic legislative campaign committee is launching a new effort to prevent a maga takeover of state legislatures. we'll talk to the committee president. that's ahead on "morning joe." o president. that's ahead on "morning joe." with so many choices on booking.com there are so many tina feys i could be. so i hired body doubles. indoorsy tina loves a deluxe suite. ooh! booking.com booking.yeah (vo) in three seconds, this couple will share a perfect moment. 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>> no, i don't think so. he is -- after i lost the election -- i won the election, but when they said we lost, he called me up three or four times. >> after i lost the election -- i won the election. in another conversation between trump and setoodeh, he claims that joan rivers voted for him in 2016. >> joan said she was a republican. did you know that? >> i thought she might have been a republican. i know one thing. she voted for me according to what she said. >> one small hitch. she died two years before that election. sam, so you have the former president saying in his own words, the joan rivers stuff side, i lost the election, but he does very quickly say -- he gets back on track. >> right. >> he gets back on message. >> i don't read too much into it. >> me neither. >> i think he has -- i think he knows he lost the election probably, but he's convinced himself otherwise. >> he's never going to say it. >> there might be a slipup here and there, and the idea that he would ever admit it to me seems almost impossible because it's so core to his political appeal, this idea that something was taken from him, and relatedly from his supporters. i mean, this is essentially why -- the basis of the campaign. he talks about it all the time. it's retribution, right? what are you having retribution for? for this grave unjustice that was being done to you. everyone knows it's a lie. there's been countless losses to litigate this. you know, extensive corruption overturned, but that's the world he moves no. >> as you say, sam, there were plenty of people who testified during the january 6th hearings who said he knew it was a lie. >> yep. >> i agree with sam. i don't think this is going to have a huge impact on the campaign. sounds like a slip of the tongue that he very quickly wanted to put right in his own mind. >> yeah. >> in his own mind. >> the question is who is joan rivers going to cast her ballot for this time? >> i think that's important because we know that dead people vote, so obviously. >> that is part of donald trump's lie. no doubt about it. moving to the present day, during a radio interview yesterday with a milwaukee-based host, vice president kamala harris suggested that donald trump's comment about milwaukee as being horrible in a meeting he held with house republicans last week, represents a larger pattern of the former president attacking predominantly black cities. >> your opponent thinks milwaukee is less than wonderful. in fact, he called it horrible. i know you have been here many times. madam vice president, have your experiences in milwaukee led you to believe that this is a horrible city? >> let me tell you, i love milwaukee and i keep coming back to milwaukee. you look at what donald trump did to apparently criticize milwaukee. you know, he did that with my home city of oakland. he did that as it relates to baltimore, as it relates to atlanta and philadelphia, and i'll let your listeners connect the dots in terms of what all those cities have in common, but there seems to be a pattern at play. >> trump later denied he called milwaukee horrible, saying he was referring to the city's crime rate and what he claims are voting issues. gene, there's also reporting he originally planned to stay in chicago. >> yes. at the trump hotel. >> this would allow him to bill secret service staying with him. so he could make some money off of it while he's there, but there's no doubt that he is -- the cities he criticizes, often -- many times they have black mayors. they have certainly large black populations. he uses them to create these images of fear and crime usually not backed up by the numbers, but it's part of his pitch. >> it's part of his pitch. this is not new. you know, you go all the way back to the central park five and just draw the line right to the present day, and look. let's be honest. i mean, that is -- that is part of his -- his appeal to his base. not, you know, not explicitly we hate black cities, but atmospherically, and, you know, tribally, he makes that pitch, and it's a, you know, it's not coded language anymore. it's just kind of, you know, bull horn. >> well, it's just a joke, trump's idea that he's going to woo black voters from biden in significant numbers enough to change the narrative. i mean, basically what he's doing is trying to make white voters who think that trump's racist and have good cause to think so feel that perhaps, oh, well, trump's doing outrage. maybe that's how he stands to potentially win much like juan johnson ran those ads in wisconsin about all he had done for the black community, and that wasn't to win black voters. it was to reassure white voters, and so trump -- that was one of the funniest moments at a focus group in detroit with some black voters and asking them about trump's comments and to respond, and i mean, it was just laughable. laughter. laughter, full on laughter. >> trying to create a permission structure for people to vote. still, a bold choice to alienate the residents of the largest city in perhaps the biggest swing state. >> it's really -- it's, like -- >> unorthodox play, but all right. >> it's such a cool city too. i love milwaukee. i think it's a great city. if i had to choose, like, a midwest place, it's a good city. good baseball field. good beer. you got a lot going there. >> on the waterfront. >> beautiful lake. there's been a lot of milwaukee love on the show in the last week and rightly so. and we've got an important programming note to tell you about. this monday is the second anniversary of the supreme court's decision to reverse roe v. wade and to mark that day, mika will be sitting down with the aforementioned vice president kamala harris for an exclusive interview. that's this monday only on "morning joe." coming up, the world he would organization is out with a new warning about counterfeit ozempic circulating on the market. one of our next guests is looking at how criminals and con artists are taking advantage of shortages and sky-high prices. "morning joe" will be right back. sky-high prices. 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[cheering] don't panic. gift easy with gift mode, now on etsy. while i am a paid actor, and this is not a real company, there is no way to fake how upwork can help your business. upwork is half the cost of our old recruiter and they have top-tier talent and everything from pr to project management because this is how we work now. welcome back. one of the world's most popular information websites was declared an unreliable source. wikipedia says one of the world's authorities on anti-jewish hate is not a reliable source for information about the israel/palestine conflict and anti-semitism. they cited them as advocacy and research organization saying that prevents them from providing unbiased accounts on these topics. the move comes amid a surge of anti-semitic incidents across the country since the october 7th hamas terrorist attack on israel. with more than 1,800 incidents reported in just the past eight months. that's up 700% compared to last year. joining us now, the ceo of the anti-defamation league, jonathan greenblatt. thanks for being here this morning. let's start very simply. what is your reaction to what wikipedia did? >> wikipedia is an organization we deeply respect. it's a website i think we all use. we count on it a great deal, but i have to acknowledge its processes are a bit of a black box, and the standards are opaque and we don't have total access or transparency to how it works, but this happening today, and at a moment when jewish people are facing vulnerability, suggesting that tracking that vulnerability isn't valid, that our processes aren't rigorous, that our data, you know, isn't accurate. it's flatout wrong, and i think what we're beginning to understand as there's a handful of editors at wikipedia who are basing this decision if you will, or asserting this claim because of the fact that we do as a jewish organization support the jewish state, because we do use the standard definition of anti-semitism used by governments around the world and these are the positions we take and it's not a basis to kick us off of wikipedia or any other place. that would be doing an incredible disservice to the public at large. >> and their claim that because you're in their words, an advocacy and research organization, so therefore the advocacy taints the research. what do you make of that? >> i mean, look. our processes are so -- they're absolutely rigorous. our methodologies are sound. they stand up to scrutiny. everything is transparent, and we have a team of ph.d.s that do this work, and i find it incredulous that, you know, i think we should listen to black people when they tell us about what racism is. i think we should listen to lgbtq groups when they tell us what homophobia or transphobia is, and i think we need to listen to jewish people when they explain what anti-semitism is. >> i think that's right, and to me, the adl is not the same thing as "the washington post" or "the new york times" trying to be, you know, they are not -- we are not advocacy groups. >> sure. >> we are journalists, but you don't pretend to be a journalistic group. >> correct. >> but as far as i know and have ever known, there's never been anything wrong with the adl's research. the numbers hold up. the counts of various incidents hold up, and so it is possible to disagree with, you know, advocacy or policy positions that the adl might take, and still respect the research. i wouldn't say that makes you unreliable. >> i mean, look. again, i think it's a handful of people basing this on a series of issues or positions we've taken that again, are not grounded in evidence. they are not based in fact and we're going to do everything that we can to explain to that leadership at wikipedia why we think they're getting this wrong. >> isn't this kind of the same as reddit though, and the different moderators that just, you know, these are these online forums and this is how they police and based on their own rules and so, it's really these outside forums. we can't have much to do with what elon musk decides can go on twitter. it's kind of the conundrum of free speech colliding with bad speech, hateful speech. >> yeah. i mean, it's a good point, you know, i admire the fact that wikipedians are volunteers and they work on these things and there are article there is a we all benefit from, and at the same time when a small group of people can take a political position and they're not accountable. look at adl. we have publicly available financial filings. we have quarterly board meetings. we have a very open process. we use best practice governance. i mean, i don't -- look. i think we're a bit of an open book. we're trying to open the book on wikipedia to better understand why they're making this decision. coming up, i recently sat down with the stars of "despicable me 4." that fun conversation is up next. we'll be right back. un conversa next we'll be right back. number smart bed? 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(reporters) over here. kev! kev! (reporter 1) any response to the trade rumors, we keep hearing about? (kev) we talkin' about moving? not the trade, not the trade, we talking about movin'. no thank you. (reporter 2) you could use opendoor. sell your house directly to them, it's easy. (kev) ... i guess we're movin'. (♪♪) (♪♪) try dietary supplements from voltaren, for healthy joints. ♪ ♪ try dietary supplements from voltaren, [ speaking minionese ] no. no. no. no. no. no. [ gasps ] [ chuckling ] good job, junior. way to go. [ chuckling ] [ speaking minionese ] all right, gentlemen. i was recently called out of retirement to take down maxine. >> what now? >> we're low on fuel. >> it's always something. look, i can never focus on just being evil. remove it. come on. >> did you pull it out rapidly. >> yes, yes. very rapidly. ah! >> some of you may be wondering why you're here. we need volunteers. nice work, gentlemen. you will be the first to test our super serum designed to transform you into cutting edge agents, or you might just explode. ♪♪ >> ladies and gentlemen, our new secret weapon, the megaminions. ♪♪ [ speaking minion ] >> gru and the minions are back in "despicable me 4." this is the first in seven years following the massive success of "minions: the rise of gru" which grossed $1 billion globally. i recently sat down with the movie's cast of comedy legends, steve carell, kristen wiig, and will ferrell for this seriously unserious interview. >> i thank you all. we really appreciate you being with us. steve, this is, you know, the franchise is perhaps the biggest of all-time. it's theme parks, halloween costumes. as an nbc, comcast, university employee, it's my 401k. why does it resonate with people so much? >> people really -- i have no idea. [ speaking minion ] >> i mean, the short answer, we did the first one. i thought it was great. i thought it was funny, and it was heartwarming. it was all of those things, and it felt like a real movie, you know? it felt like the relationships meant something, but you never know how people are going to take to something, but they did, but i give all the credit to the writers who have been able to expand the world over these three or four movies. >> my wife watched this with my kids. they are ages 12 and 9, and my youngest is a baby, and you have kids who have grown up with it. you have the youngest now. >> yes. >> at home right now are minions a hit? >> they love -- they love the minions. minion everything. as much as i can get, but they've only seen the first one because they're still quite young, but they know this one's coming out and they're really, really excited. it's the minion movie to them. how can you not love a minion? they're funny. >> you're a hair stylist at an upscale salon. >> a hair stylist? yes, yes! >> you're the new kid on the block. >> joining it on. >> was this the easiest decision you ever had to made or did your arm have to get twisted to join the cast? >> well, i have been begging for years -- decades, and these guys would just laugh and then change the subject. so finally i got a shot, and this is my shot. hope i didn't blow it. >> how much creative leeway did you have, like, to input that character and that accent? >> well, that was kind of what was pitched to me, that maxine would be this flamboyant guy with this french accent and i was, like, i'm in. that having been said, you know, you're given a ton of creative freedom to try whatever you want, different reads, different fluctuations, however you want to do it, and that's -- that's not allowed all the time. so this was great. this was great to do that. >> what now? >> we're low on fuel. >> it's always something. look, i can never focus on just being evil. >> well, you all have real improv history, of course. how do you take -- do you take that with you? does that help inform something like that or there limitations and challenges to the animation too? >> i mean, they pretty much encourage us to bring our own take to it. we definitely get what's scripted and what's great about this as opposed to shooting something live is it's not, like, can i try that again? then you have to wait and cut. you can just -- >> you improvised? >> they said, we have to move on. >> yeah. >> that's so sad. >> i know. >> because we had so much fun doing it. >> we did, and we shot in that beautiful, beautiful studio. where did you record? >> did you get to work together and record the voices together? >> all the time. >> okay. >> everybody else got to work together. >> they asked me to record from my bathroom on an iphone. and they would fix it later. >> but you got the part. >> i did. >> checkable cash. so you guys obviously worked together so many times over the years. >> yeah. >> talk to us. why do you think your chemistry works? >> i think both these people are incredibly funny, obviously, and the bad part -- and actually the good part of not doing this together is that they always make me laugh when we're doing scenes together. >> we're a morning news show, as you might imagine "anchorman" resonates. >> yes. >> do you think your action team could take the "morning joe" cast? >> oh. >> is that a challenge? that seems like a challenge. >> what is your take on that? >> there's not even a question. i'm not afraid of the team of "morning joe." >> all right. now down to business. >> we're serious people and we cover as you know, every day the most serious issues and the state of our politics. so what can "despicable me" tell us about our democracy right now? >> you know what? i have always said this about the entire series. if going to "despicable me" invites just one person to cast a vote, then we've done it. >> it is -- it is a piece of propaganda to get out the vote. it's all about getting out the vote. deep state. deep state. the vote. deep state. >> that's all we want. >> i was at the premier yesterday, and a little kid yelled "get out the vote"! "make sure you vote"! >> what is a minion really? >> a minion is a tiny -- >> a minion saying "get out the vote" what would that sound like in minionese -- [ speaks minion ] [ laughter ] >> they should. minions are tiny, manmade, soft animal people. >> animal people. >> they're living creatures. >> they're alive, yes. they love bananas. >> they love all types of food, it seems like. >> yes. >> do you talk about fart guns on your show a lot? >> occasionally, yes. >> the fart gun, the premier last night was a huge hit. everybody enjoys a good fart gun moment. if you like, we will gift your show some fart guns. >> i think we would love some fart guns, joe and willie and mika and i. >> mika would go crazy with the fart guns. >> you've now said fart guns two or three times. [ laughter ] >> the single at the end, i mean, i won't spoil it. there is some singing. it is beautiful. >> yeah. >> did you do your own recording? >> yes. >> 100%. >> that only took 15 takes. >> yeah. >> that's very impressive. >> i just wanted to make it perfect. each take got louder and louder and loudlouder. no better, just louder. >> i hired lionel ritchie to come and hang out with me in the recording booth. >> with the iphone? >> with the iphone. he's here today. hi, lionel. he's so giving. >> i know. >> we obviously are part of the nbc family. you all have such deep ties to "saturday night live." can you tell us about those sort of experiences? you obviously were just on recently. the skills you learned there and the intensity of that, how does that inform what you do, whether it's not this role, but this role and others that you currently do? >> so much. i feel like that was the best sort of college you could go to. >> yeah. >> especially just how fast everything is. now when you go onto a set sometimes, it's like, oh no, you can do that in three minutes. i can change my clothes in 30 seconds. and collaborating with people, that's a big thing. >> i remember thinking this is the hardest/most fun thing i probably will ever do. >> steve, you're famous for a lot of iconic roles. gru is now chief among them. >> it's up there. >> could you have predicted that a decade or so back? >> i'm like a nice meatloaf! i'm pretty delicious! >> not in a million years, no. >> that's not true. i remember you left a voicemail, you're like, bingo, i got a big one here. >> no. we thought it was good, but you never know. you never know until people make that judgment and go to see it and embrace it. i'm happy it worked out. my kids grew up with this thing. they love it. it's a very sweet part of my life. i love being a part of it. >> that's great. and still going strong. >> yeah. >> thank you so much, all of you, for your time. >> thank you. >> "despicable me 4" will start playing in theaters everywhere on july 3rd. still ahead on "morning joe," a brand new effort to prevent a maga takeover of state legislatures. plus, new reporting on how donald trump is preparing to ask a judge to throw out key evidence of his efforts to obstruct the investigation in his classified documents case. a jam-packed fourth hour of "morning joe" straight ahead. liberty mutual customized my car insurance and i saved hundreds. with all the money i saved i thought i'd buy stilts. being so tall definitely has its advantages. oh whoa. here you go, kiddo. thanks. hi honey ready to go? yup. there it is, there it is... ahhh...here we go. i guess it also has some disadvantages. yes it does. only pay for what you need. ♪liberty. liberty. liberty, liberty.♪ (vo) in two seconds, eric will realize only pay for what you need. they're gonna need more space... 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(♪♪) i'm getting vaccinated with pfizer's pneumococcal pneumonia vaccine. so am i. because i'm at risk for pneumococcal pneumonia. come on. i already got a pneumonia vaccine, but i'm asking about the added protection of prevnar 20®. if you're 19 or older with certain chronic conditions like asthma, diabetes, copd, or heart disease, or are 65 or older, you are at increased risk for pneumococcal pneumonia. prevnar 20® is approved in adults to help prevent infections from 20 strains of the bacteria that cause pneumococcal pneumonia. in just one dose. don't get prevnar 20® if you've had a severe allergic reaction to the vaccine or its ingredients. adults with weakened immune systems may have a lower response to the vaccine. the most common side effects were pain and swelling at the injection site, muscle pain, fatigue, headache, and joint pain. i want to be able to keep my plans. i don't want to risk ending up in the hospital with pneumococcal pneumonia. that's why i chose prevnar 20®. ask your doctor or pharmacist about the pfizer vaccine for pneumococcal pneumonia. in the meantime, the race for who will be trump's number two is heating up. trump is expected to announce his pick for running mate at or just before the convention next month. he's reportedly whittled it down to eight finalists. one of them is senator jd vance of ohio despite the fact that he's shared many less than complimentary thoughts about trump in the past. >> you said i'm a never trump guy, idiot if you voted for him, might be america's hitler, cultural heroin. >> i was wrong about donald trump. >> i didn't know you meant that donald trump. when i said america's hitler, i meant that in a good way. >> there we have it, the evolution of jd vance, who by many is considered the frontrunner to be trump's vice president pick. i'm told we're not going to get a decision for some time now. >> doesn't sound like we will certainly by the debates. between jd vance, marco rubio. trump wants somebody who's good on television, but not too good on television. >> the number one job if you're in donald trump's orbit is not ever to upstage donald trump. i think that is a key factor here. welcome back to the fourth hour of "morning joe." it is 6:00 a.m. on the west coast, 9:00 a.m. in the east. we have a lot to get to this hour. we'll go live to florida ahead of a key hearing in the classified documents case. two judges tried to persuade judge aileen cannon to recuse herself from the case. meanwhile, the end of the supreme court's term is fast approaching, and we are still awaiting a monumental decision on trump's immunity claim. will today be the day? and an update on steve bannon's effort to stay out of prison after his refusal to cooperate with the january 6th committee. and we'll dig into the dark side of one very popular remedy in the weight industry where criminals and con artists exploit desperate patients already dealing with shortages and sky-high prices. elise jordan is with us for this hour. >> we're less than a week away from the first presidential debate, and we now know who will have the last word. according to cnn, biden's campaign won the coin flip and opted for the right-hand podium on the stage, which means he'll be on the right side of your screen next week. trump's team chose to deliver the final statement of the debate. meanwhile, biden's reelection campaign and pacs and committees say together they raised $85 million in the last month. that figure is far short of the 141 million that trump's campaign, allied groups and the rnc say they roads. one figure the trump campaign has not reported this much, how much cash it has on hand. trump's war chest was $60 million smaller than biden's back in april. the largest federal campaign contribution so far this cycle now belongs to businessman timothy melon who donated $40 million to a super pac supporting trump's bid on the final day of may. in any other country, a $50 million individual donation to a candidate would be unbelievable, would actually probably be illegal in most western democracies. it's a massive sum for one person to give. you have to think what you get in return. >> it's in the aftermath of the citizens united supreme court decision of a decade or so back. mike bloomberg made a significant gift to those groups supporting president biden. this is a race that is simply awash in cash, elise. it did seem after trump was convicted in new york city in his hush-money trial, his team said they expected the money to roll in, and it did. he's managed to really close the gap. what had once been a major advantage for biden, just having a lot more money on hand. >> i frankly was shocked by just how much trump raised in the 48 hours after the conviction. his team predicted something around 52 million and it ended up being closer to 70 just in the 48 hours after the conviction. there was such a huge gulf between the two candidates. you would hear from the trump campaign, the primary is over, we're going to make this up. they really did. one thing about trump is he has always been able to operate a relatively lean operation, but now he's even more funded going into the summer cycle. >> of course, some of the money he does raise is going to his legal bills, an issue that president biden does not have. on the latest episode of "inside politic," here's what jen o'malley said. >> joe biden is going to stand on that stage and he is going to show what he showed in 2020, that he is in this for the right reasons. do i think rules are going to protect the american people from whatever donald trump might say? of course not. but i do think, you know, having this really be serious is what the american people want. and i think that, you know, joe biden every day is doing the job of being president. this is a great opportunity earlier in this cycle than ever before for the two of them to stand together and for him to talk about what he's done and what he's fighting for. you know, not having an audience, not having distractions, not having to worry about covid, i think all those things are better for the american people. i think joe biden is going to have a great debate. >> john heilemann joins us now. >> my snarkdar is a little dull, but a little edge there unnecessary. >> we're glad you're there. that's certainly a newsy interview with someone who doesn't do a lot of them in jen o'malley dillon. this debate really seems like it's going to matter. >> yeah, i think it's going to matter. you're right, jen o'malley dillon has nod done an extensive interview since she moved to wilmington from washington and started running the campaign. they understand the stakes of this debate. we talked about how much, you know, the state of the union is the right analogy in some ways, because it's the next beat of giant exposure to lots of people who don't normally pay attention to politics, people in that small sliver of voters who matter at this point. even in the face of the fact that biden has over the last six months, it's unmistakable that polling has improved, at least on the national level. trump's peak was in january. the polling numbers had him up by four. biden is now a little bit ahead in the 538 average and neck and neck with trump. there is a lot of democratic bedwetting happening again. people see some of these videos. many of them are deceptively edited. but the notion that biden is freezing on camera has a lot in the donor world and fishlgs kind -- officials kind of worried again about biden. the campaign is trying to do the same thing, exceed expectations, have joe biden have a great night. but these new rules are no man's land. we've never been there before. >> biden is up in camp david for several days holed up there. for months they kept pointing to the significant financial advantage the biden team had. they've spent a lot of money. as to what you just said, biden is ahead in most national surveys by a little, but it's all within the margin of error. >> there's just a little bit of a trend in biden's direction. that's clear after six months and after the trial. >> trend lines matter. biden has closed the gap. this is undeniably a close race. what's the level of concern for democrats that trump has pulled even in the financial game? >> not nearly as great as the questions for democrats around whether biden continues to look like he's up to the job. voters don't care about the financial stuff, number one. the biden campaign is going to have all the resources it needs to get things done. when you run a presidential campaign, you think do we have the money we need to reach the voters we need to reach? they are confident with all the fundraising they've done, they're not going to be cash strapped. would they prefer to have a giant advantage over trump? yes. they thought we're going to have enough money to get done what we need to get down. we can't control what happens with donald trump. we'd rather see him poor, but they kind of expected that eventually the billionaire class would rally around trump, which is what we're seeing. >> this is getting into the nitty-gritty, but did you hear anything from the biden campaign about why the decision to choose the podium on the right versus final statement? >> i have not. i wish i had an answer for that question. it's an interesting question, totally fascinating. i don't know the answer to it. that's one of those things we'll read about in lemire's great book afterwards, "the big lie part 2." >> the bigger lie. >> jen o'malley dillon is a legendary field organizers, eventually ran the battleground states for obama, was his deputy campaign manager, ran biden's campaign in 2020 and took him to the white house. she talks in the tail of this interview about the difference between the 2020 race. everybody says, hey, it's a rerun. they do not see it that way at all. they think the 2020 campaign was very much a national campaign. they had a national message. it was in the middle of covid. but you couldn't run a battleground race in 2020. in 2024, they think of this as not a national race anymore. they think of that as these six states, plus she argued strongly that north carolina is a state they can tip. she admits florida is not a state they can tip. but those six or seven states -- and they're running state-by-state campaigns. >> the campaign doesn't want to express anxiety publicly to any of us, but what was your sense of what's worrying them? is it a demographic group? is it anything in particular that keeps them up at night? >> i think the thing that worries them is the information environment is what it is. i asked her to kind of try and make the case for -- you know we see surrogates all the time go on tv and say i was in a meeting with joe biden recently and he seemed great. you spend more time with him or as much time with him as anybody in the white house over the last three years. how do you make the case that biden is -- give me a vivid reason for those who say joe biden is not up to the job? she told a great story, emotional, powerful, vivid, but it's a four or five-minute long story. in this information environment, the voters you have to reach are people who don't hear the five-minute story. they're going to see deep fakes, cheap fakes and not fakes, but quick images that leave a certain impression. trying to reach people in this environment is really hard, reach anyone in the environment we live in now in the information ecosystem. i think they are grappling with that small set of voters that are very hard to reach with some very significant, stubborn concerns about biden. how do you move those people? there's no secret silver bullet answer to that question. that's the thing i think they worry about more than anything else. >> certainly, as discussed, trump's criminal conviction has changed the shape of the race. we expect biden to lean in on that next week. the supreme court will hand down more decisions starting at 10:00 a.m. this morning. there are still over a dozen cases left on the docket. the justices must rule on several hot-button issues in the coming days, including abortion, guns, and the issue of president trump claiming broad presidential immunity. the justices are expected to release most of those decisions by the end of the month. we'll get some at 10 a.m., just minutes from now. we'll get more next week. but the fact that it has taken the justices this long to rule on the presidential immunity, means it will be difficult, perhaps not impossible, but difficult for jack smith to bring the federal election case to trial. >> we're getting pretty much to the impossible stage certainly for some kind of result and the process to work its way through the courts. a new report reveals a judge over the classified documents case in florida refused to recuse herself from the case despite two fellow judges advising she should do so. the two more experienced colleagues contacted judge aileen cannon by phone shortly after she drew the assignment last year. one was the chief judge in the southern district of florida. the other has not been identified. the paper cites two people briefed on those conversations. judge cannon was appointed to the bench by president trump in 2020. the times reports that the assignment drew attention because she has scant trial experience and had previously shown unusual favor to trump by intervening in a way that helped him in the criminal investigation that led to his indictment. special counsel jack smith charged trump with illegally storing classified documents at mar-a-lago after leaving the white house in 2021 and resisting federal efforts to get those files back. trump has pleaded not guilty to all of those charges. meanwhile, in just a few minutes, a new hearing will get under way in donald trump's classified documents case. the proceeding will deal with a motion by trump's defense team to have the indictment against the former president dismissed on the ground that special counsel jack smith's appointment is not constitutionally valid. let's bring in senior political correspondent for "the guardian" hugo lowell. you have exclusive new reporting just this morning about this case. it's a confusing case perhaps to people who aren't following it every day like you are. what can you tell us, and how significant is it? >> reporter: yeah. so we have the hearing today which has to do with whether jack smith, the special counsel, was illegally appointed by america garland. next tuesday is a sealed hearing before judge cannon, where trump's lawyers are going to ask the judge to basically revoke prosecutors' access to all of trump's ex-lawyer's notes. the notes form the backbone of the obstruction case in this prosecution. if you recall in the indictment, there were passages about how donald trump was telling his attorney evan corcoran, what happens if we just tell the government we don't have any documents here? and also telling him, if there are any bad documents, sort of pluck it, and made this sort of plucking motion. this is a tall order for any judge. judge cannon most recently striking a damning paragraph on the indictment about trump waving this classified map around at bedminster in 2021. >> let's stay on the subject of judge cannon. this "new york times" report suggests a couple of her colleagues pushed her to recuse herself. i guess it's no surprise that she did not, but it does seem like every decision she's made has proven those fears correct. she's deferential to trump time and time again. >> reporter: when you have the chief justice saying, you should recuse yourself, that's a suggestion, but it's a suggestion for a lot of weight. for judge cannon to say, no, this is my case and i'm going to take it on, is a very bold move by her. if you look at the public docket in this case, what is remarkable a how she just doesn't rule on the most substantive motions. for the smaller motions, even if she ultimately sides with the government, she always chastises them. she always seems to be out to get the prosecutors. i've been at multiple hearings at this courthouse behind me. she will pick apart the government's argument for being slightly incorrect. she had a hearing last month where prosecutors invoked rule 404 b to trump's arguments. she went back to prosecutors and said, well, your rebuttal is wrong, so i'm going to strike this paragraph and gave trump the win. >> hugo lowell, thank you very much. meanwhile, in a little more than a week, trump campaign advisor steve bannon will have to report to prison. yesterday a three-judge panel denied his bid to remain free while he appeals his contempt of congress conviction. a federal appeals court declined to overrule a lower court's ruling that he must report to prison july 1st. in 2022 a jury found bannon guilty on three counts of refusing to testify before the january 6th committee that was investigating the riot at the capitol. bannon was sentenced to four months in prison. he and his lawyers say they plan to appeal all the way up to the u.s. supreme court. john heilemann, steve bannon is famed, i suppose, for wearing multiple shirts at once. >> a lot of shirts. >> he's going to have less say on his dress code once he goes to prison. assuming he's in there july 1st for four months, that takes him off the playing field during the stretch run of this election. bannon hosts a widely influential podcast. he's probably not going to play much of a role in this election. >> in one respect and in one respect only i am disappointed in this ruling, because the grounds with which they sought to delay his imprisonment was basically steve bannon hosts a very influential podcast and the american people need to hear him in the run up to the election. i think if the court sides with bannon here, i have my out if i'm arrested and sent to prison. i host a widely influential podcast. america needs me. they can't put me in prison. look, the other thing notable here, he's going to a prison up in connecticut, a very, you know, not quite a resort, but he's not at rikers. i think this is an important point, though. i think one of the things that's true is steve bannon has hung around the hoop at various times. he's been out of favor with trump and very much in favor. over time he has been someone who has had trump's ear consistently, like roger stone, who no matter what, never goes away. there are questions about will he have computer access, will he have phone calls, how often? the podcast, he will not be able to host in prison. but what his contact with the maga universe is still unclear to me. the absence of bannon will change things. he had an important voice. january 6th was something he thought was a good idea. maybe great for the country, but not as good for trump to have bannon out of communication. >> he's keeping the maga folk excited. so his influence, it hits such a -- you know, they're already in the tank for trump that i don't know that it matters that much that bannon's leadership is not going to be out into the world. >> july 1st is the date he's supposed to report to prison. next on "morning joe," the new effort from one democratically aligned group to, quote, prevent a maga takeover of state legislatures. we'll explain what that is. plus, vladimir putin's warning to western nations who are providing arms to ukraine. what the russian leader had to say and why he may now be reconsidering his country's nuclear weapons doctrine. also ahead, a world of criminals, con artists, sky-high prices and life-threatening fakes. we dive into new reporting surrounding the world of counterfeit ozempic. t ozempic and with kisqali, i can have both. kisqali is a pill that when taken with an aromatase inhibitor helps delay cancer from growing and has been proven to help people live significantly longer across three separate clinical trials. so, i have the confidence to live my life. kisqali can cause lung problems or an abnormal heartbeat, which can lead to death. it can cause serious skin reactions, liver problems, and low white blood cell counts that may result in severe infections. avoid grapefruit during treatment. tell your doctor right away if you have new or worsening symptoms, including breathing problems, cough, chest pain, a change in your heartbeat, dizziness, yellowing of the skin or eyes, dark urine, tiredness, loss of appetite, abdomen pain, bleeding, bruising, fever, chills, or other symptoms of an infection, a severe or worsening rash, are or plan to become pregnant, or breastfeeding. long live life and long live you. ask your doctor about kisqali today. 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x marks the spot. now you can add the new xfinity streamsaver™ that includes netflix, peacock, and apple tv+. that's xfinity streamsaver™ for just $15 a month. all your favorites. all in one place. only from xfinity. for more watching and less spending... x marks the spot. do it all on the network made for streaming, and bring on the good stuff. welcome back to "morning joe." 9:27 a.m. here on the east coast. russian president vladimir putin is headed back home after a state visit to vietnam. during a press conference in hanoi, putin issued a warning to western nations that provide arms to ukraine, saying that in response russia would not rule out supplying arms to other countries, including north korea. those comments come a day after putin and kim jong-un signed a pact that includes a pledge of mutual defense if either country is attacked. putin also responded to south korea's threat that it would provide lethal weapons to ukraine in the wake of that agreement. putin warned south korea that it would be making a big mistake. the russian president also suggested that his country is considering changing its protocol for the use of nuclear weapons. we've heard putin saber rattle on that subject before, but it's one we always have to take seriously. >> very seriously, as does the white house, of course. what's happening out there between north korea and russia is a reminder that there are areas of the world that sometimes we don't pay much attention to. north korea has not got much attention recently, but there are enormous national security challenges and risks associated with whoever is running the white house and american foreign policy. things can flare up in a moment. it's a very volatile region. i think we've just been reminded of that. the national democratic party here in the u.s. is spending major money earlier than ever to boost down-ballot candidates. the legislative committee announced $10 million investment. it comes almost exactly two years after the supreme court sent abortion laws back to the states, making those down-ballot races arguably more important than ever. joining us now, the president of the democratic legislative campaign committee heather williams. your kids are watching. quick hello to the kids. >> hello, boys. >> thanks for joining me. there's been criticism of the democratic party in the past that they haven't paid enough attention to these legislative races. it was said that president obama didn't leave the party in a very good state around the country. is there more focus on these races? >> absolutely. i think the dobbs decision put a spotlight on how impactful the legislation and policies happening at the state level. our responsibility is to tell that story. this investment is going to help that immensely. >> you're spending $60 million in total. which states are you targeting? >> minnesota, michigan, pennsylvania, arizona, new hampshire. that is where the core activity will be and where the most important races will be. i think if folks want to get involved they should head to dlcc.org. >> those are the states where you're trying to flip state legislatures and shore up democratic strength in those states so issues like abortion rights can be protected. >> that's exactly right. millions of people's rights are protected every time we create a new democratic majority. >> you mentioned the battleground states. $60 million is a lot of money. spread out overall of those states, it doesn't go that far. if you had to prioritize one state, which one would it be? >> it's important that we return our majorities in pennsylvania, michigan and minnesota. in arizona, in both legislative chambers, democrats are just down two seats. a flip there will protect millions of people's rights. >> abortion is going to be a driving issue in the campaign. we were talking earlier in the program about virginia and how we saw a state legislature flip because of the issue of abortion. when i covered arizona in the midterm elections, the other issue was who's controlling, for example, the secretary of state's office. are you seeing those issues the white house talks about, issues around democracy, voting access, are those playing out in some of the states you're looking at, or is it really abortion that's the driving motivator? >> we're absolutely seeing those issues. the core focus must be in our legislatures. that is where everything from voting rights to access to reproductive health care to protecting the lgbtq community is happening. that's where those policies are happening. that's why it's so critical that we get involved. >> republicans are also spending big. >> they are. >> what kind of money are you up against? >> a lot of money. regardless of who wins the white house, the policies that we care most about in our communities are going to be running through the states. the republican agenda, they've made it crystal clear, is running through the state houses. we're up against a lot with the republicans. they have endless cash. we're working to run the best campaigns we can possibly run in the fall. >> thanks very much for coming in. president of the democratic legislative committee there. we mentioned this monday is the second av we mentioned this monday is the second anniversary of the supreme court's decision to overturn roe v. wade. mika will sit down with vice president kamala harris for an exclusive interview this monday only on "morning joe." next, we'll remember the life and career of actor donald sutherland, who passed away at the age of 88. sutherland, who passed away at the age of 88. nd new safe step walk-in tub, you'll receive a free shower package. yes, a free shower package! and if you call today, you'll also receive 15% off your entire order. now you can enjoy the best of both worlds! the therapeutic benefits of a warm, soothing bath that can help increase mobility, relieve pain, boost energy, and even improve sleep! or, if you prefer, you can take a refreshing shower. all-in-one product! call now to receive a free shower package plus 15% off your brand new safe step walk-in tub. reminder, bent finger appointment. i don't want to wait or have surgery for my dupuytren's contracture. i want a nonsurgical treatment. and if nonsurgical treatment isn't offered? i'll get a second opinion. take charge of your treatment. if you can't lay your hand flat, visit findahandspecialist.com to get started. switch to shopify so you can build it better, scale it faster and sell more. much more. take your business to the next stage when you switch to shopify. welcome back. this morning we are remembering iconic actor donald sutherland. the 88-year-old died yesterday after a long battle with an unspecified illness. we have a look at sutherland's life and long, meaningful career. >> i could not have parted with humanity. >> for donald sutherland, no role was out of reach. >> i don't know your name, stranger, but your face is familiar. >> the prolific actor conquered practically every genre on screen during his six-decade-long career. >> i'm not joking. this is my job. >> on thursday, sutherland's oldest son kiefer announcing the 88-year-old had died, calling his father one of the most important actors in the history of film. in 2016 the two shared the screen for the first and only time, aptly playing father and son in the film "forsaken". >> he's somebody i wanted to work with for my whole career. >> his big break came in 1967 with "the dirty dozen". >> can they fight? >> yes, sir. >> a string of memorable film characters followed including starring roles in "m.a.s.h." and alongside jane fonda in "klute." he earned critical acclaim including an emmy and golden globe for his role in "citizen x." he found new fans in "the hunger games." he spoke about his love for complex characters when he stopped by "today" in 2016. >> i don't play nice or bad or good. i just play the fella, so i can find something in everybody to play. >> at the age of 82, sutherland received an honorary oscar, thanking his children and wife. >> thank you to francine, to whom everything is owed. >> jane fonda posting on instagram, "we loved working together," adding "i am heart broke sutherland's performances never predictable, but always passionate. kiefer writing, he loved what he did and did what he loved, and one can never ask for more than that. >> a hollywood legend. chloe melas with that report. coming up, we're going to go inside the world of the alarmingly active pharmaceutical underground and why counterfeit ozempic is a global growth industry. that's next right here on "morning joe." orning joe." well done, viv. you got the presents, the balloons and the raptor cake. now, how about something to put a smile on your face? 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>> well, there are many different examples, but particularly we got inside the counterfeiting of lot nar0074, which was an industrial scale counterfeiting incident with between 10,000 to 20,000 units of counterfeit ozempic coming from china. >> who's buying them, and how dangerous might this be to somebody who ends up buying a counterfeit thinking they have bought something that's legitimate? >> so these are counterfeits that are entering the legitimate drug supply. they're reaching wholesalers and, in fact, they're entering pharmacies. so an unsuspecting patient may go to a pharmacy, get a duly-prescribd ozempic pen and it could be counterfeit. this is not buyer beware medicine purchased on the internet or on a bus ride to mexico. this is within the heart of our drug supply that is supposed to be protected. >> congratulations on this sprawling investigation. can you talk a little bit about the ozempic shortage in the u.s. and how that lays the groundwork for this crisis? and what is the craziest thing you uncovered over the course of your investigation? >> first of all, it's a great question about shortages, because that is exactly what is spiking these counterfeits. it's the perfect conditions for criminal activity. you have desperate patients. you've got massive shortages. everybody wants to get their hands on this drug. cue the pharmaceutical gray market and the counterfeiters who come in. i would say really one of the craziest things is how sophisticated this counterfeiting incident was. the documents that we obtained purported that the drugs came from china. of course, not surprising that counterfeiters can also counterfeit documents, but they had an export certificate, they had an airway bill and they had a product code which linked to handbags. so these counterfeit pens were smuggled in under the guise of being leather goods, but they had legitimate lot numbers, and they also contained the actual peptide in ozempic. really alarming. >> your reporting that 60% of the counterfeits coming through jfk originated in china. they came through turkey, thailand or the netherlands. does the chinese government, according to your reporting, know what is happening? and if they know, could they stop it? >> well, i think they actually do know what is happening. one of the problems that lay the groundwork, we believe, for this crisis is that they basically nixed the patent that novo had in china. once they invalidated the patent, that opened the door to knockoff manufacturing. since that time, the patent has been reinstated. it's being litigated. but if you don't have i.p. protection, then anybody can make your product without any restraint on quality. >> i want to turn to into the one of your recent pieces that bears a curious title, "a bear's-eye view of mike johnson's ukraine-aid stall tactic." >> you know, while these rare bears in ukraine who live right near the kyiv airport, while they were hibernating, mike johnson was stalling on this ukraine aid package. everybody was waiting, and the bears woke up to this world in complete jeopardy. they needed u.s. weapons. and the bears survive, and they cannot do it without our help. >> both reports are available to read online now. special correspondent at "vanity fair" katherine eban, thank you very much for joining us this morning. up next, a look at some of the stories making the front pages across the country, including one state's major effort to crack down on social media's addictive qualities. 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(inner monologue) another destination wedding?? why can't they use my backyard!! with empower, we get all of our financial questions answered. so we don't have to worry. empower. what's next. the beatles at abby road, taylor swift's eras tour takes over london this week, i think nbc news international correspondent meagan fitzgerald is in london with more. >> we love taylor! >> reporter: this morning london is gearing up for taylor mania, starting tonight taylor swift playing a record eight shows at the famous wembley stadium and the fans, they're a little excited. >> we love taylor! >> reporter: taylor's american fans do travel well. these devoted swifties came all the way from l.a. >> on a scale from one to ten, how excited are you? >> 13. >> 13. >> 13, okay. >> reporter: london hosting more performances than any other city in the world, and locals here think they own a piece of taylor's heart. ♪ so long london ♪ >> is her connection to the still intact after heartbreak with her so-called london boy. swift living here part-time for six years while in a long-term relationship with british actor joe alwyn. their breakup last year potentially influencing her latest record lyrics. al win opening up for the first time about the relationship telling the sunday times the difficulties that come with a long, loving fully committed relationship is a hard thing to navigate. but she left her mark in london through her music. ♪ you know i love my london boy ♪ >> camden market is such a london staple. what's more british than a pint -- thank you so much -- in a pub. ♪♪ >> reporter: this is taylor's favorite deke bab shop. >> the uk show expected to boost the economy to the tune of more than a billion dollars. london is welcoming taylor with open arms with new murals and these just unveiled swifty steps. the party here in london is just getting started. >> and the british economy needs all the help it can get, even from taylor swift. nbc's meagan fitzgerald reporting there. a quick look at the morning papers before we go. in new york the staten island advance is highlighting a new bill signed by governor kathy hochul aimed at making social media less addictive to children. under the safe kids act, children under 18 will only be shown posts made by accounts they follow, and content suggested by social media's algorithm will be blocked. some tech companies are criticizing the bill accusing it of censoring online free speech. the l.a. times leads with environmentalists suing to block a half a billion dollars california highway expansion. the project would add additional lanes, which state officials say will relieve congestion on the freeway that connects the bay area to sacramento, but climate change activists and scientists say the expansion will have the opposite effect by encouraging more people to drive. and the indianapolis star reports that families who adopt and serve as guardians of children from the indiana foster care system will soon receive more funds to help cover expenses. currently those families only receive about half of the amount a child received in foster care, but according to dcs officials beginning july, they will now receive 100% of the amount. officials hope the increase in funds will help lead to an increase in adoption rates in the state. lemire, have you been to a taylor swift concert yet? >> i have not been to a taylor swift concert yet. my two sons are not in her target. that said, i know everyone who has gone says it changes their lives. >> wow. >> john heilemann, your weekly column for puck is online now and the latest episode of your podcast also up. we may be just a few moments away from learning the next phase of donald trump's legal future but the biden campaign has been clear, they don't think the courtroom is where donald trump's going to be defeated t. has to be done at the election. tell what little more you learned from the campaign. >> i think they have leaned in, as you know. this ad this week and the labeling him a felon, talking about his sexual -- his being liable for sexual assault, the business fraud, they think in the core of their message, which is joe biden's all about you. donald trump's all about himself, that that feeds into that message, that the criminal thing is not like going to tip the election, although they have, again, seen a small uptick with the voters they care about in the polling on that question, but it's part of the larger message frame which is kind of like donald trump is in this for himself. abuses his power, doesn't care about the law, doesn't care about anything except himself. i think they're not relying on the court but it's an important factor. there is no target demographic for taylor swift. >> have you been? are you a swifty? >> she's the greatest, she's maybe the only true inher tor to bruce springsteen as a song writer. that interview with the despicable me people, classic, one for the books. >> there it is. >> people should watch that. if you didn't see it, go back and watch the lemire interview with those guys. it was a heartbreaking work of. >> steve carell, kristen wiig and will farrell. >> a lot of reasons, the fabulous four. that's the fab four. >> there it is, the new fab four. lest end the week right there. that does it for us this morning. thank you all for watching. we of course will see you again monday, 6:00 a.m. eastern here on "morning joe." ana cabrera picks up msnbc's coverage right now. right now on "ana cabrera report" breaking news from the supreme court. 19 cases left including the all important absolute immunity argument from donald trump, we're live at the court. more breaking news out of a florida courthouse this time in the classified documents case as we learn about efforts to remove the judge. and later, conviction cash cow. donald trump eats away at president biden's cash leap. the big numbers both men are reporting with less than a week until that