Transcripts For MSNBCW Morning Joe 20170227

National committee, michael steele. Your cell phones, how awkward would that . Be would you hand them over . If you asked. Did you all see the oscars . A lot of them. Whoa. The epic best picture blunder, possibly the worst in oscar history, someone gave Warren Beatty the wrong envelope for the nights biggest prize. Take a look. The Academy Award for best picture. Youre awful. Gosh. Lala land. When the camera goes to the audience you can hear a confused warren bettatty, it says here ea stone. As filmmakers take the stage to accept the award, an accountant from pricewaterhouse cooper, the firm that certifies the oscar votes, came running out on stage. Im sorry. No. There is a mistake. Moonlight you guys won best picture. Moonlight won. This is not a joke. This is not a joke. Im afraid they read the wrong thing. This is not a joke. Moonlight has won best picture. Moonlight best picture. I would like to see you get an oscar any way. Why dont we give out a whole bunch of them . I will hand these to my friends at moonlight. Warren, what did you do . I want to tell you what happened. I opened the envelope and it said emma stone la la land. Thats why i took such a long look at faye and at you. I wasnt trying to be funny. My god. The hollywood audience just as shocked as everyone at home. Filmmakers of moonlight take the stage to claim their award. Very clearly, even in my dreams, this could not be true but the hell with dreams. Im done with it because this is true. Oh, my goodness. And i have to say it is true. It is not fake. We have been on the road with these guys so long and so gracious and generous to them. My love to la la land. Im not sure this is real but thank you to the academy and so humbling to be standing up with here still the no, they are gone. Its very humbling to be up here. That is horrible. Look at this part. Do you think that he set faye up . I dont. Although one would consider that like a Mike Barnicle move. I think he is looking for a second opinion. I think he is. He was hoping the only thing missing here is he should have just said, do i have the wrong and showed it to them in the front. You think about the pressure youre under at that moment. This is not supposed to go wrong they couldnt have given me the wrong envelope here is what didnt go wrong. Willie geists sister. Yes, yes my daughter and i have been watching this series she created. Libby geist won an oscar. It won for best documentary. And the oscar goes to o. J. Made in america. And the oscar goes to o. J. [ screaming ] im going to cry. That is the geist household oh, my god. That is so cute what amazing. I hope they werent eating guacamole. That is incredible. Congratulations, willie. I cannot believe it. Libby oscar winner. Incredible thing. Incredible piece of work. Amazing. If anybody who hasnt seen it, a brilliant thing and they knew they had a chance to win an Academy Award and eighthour long documentary and put it on for a couple of weekends in new york and l. A. So it would qualify for an Academy Award recommendation and it paid off. I dont watch anything. I dont have the time. I sat there, i think i watched five hours with my daughter. Is that possible . Yes. In a row. Binge watched to her. Jimmy kimmel was outstanding. Hysterical. That steve harvey line, amazing. I thought he was great. He was very good. I didnt get to the end. Lets get to the politics. A day before the president makes his first address to a joint session of congress, the new nbc news the wall street journal poll shows him with a historic disapproval rating. He is the only president in modern polling to begin his presidency with a net negative rating 44 of americans approve. 48 disproof of his job in official so far. The numbers come as the white house is cracking down on leaks remember when i asked for your phones . I do remember that. This really happened. According to politico, press Secretary Sean Spicer met with a dozen of his Communications Officers to discuss recent leaks. Staffers were reportedly told to dump their government and personal phones to prove they had nothing to hide. The irony is that this story was leaked politico. Like, im just trying to envision that happening. Does anyone have any inside report . Did they all put them in a basket and people went through the phones . I would say no way. Is that what happened . The account that was given seems to suggest that people in the room felt compelled to put their phones on the table. How many . Not sure. On friday, President Trump doubled down on his criticism of what he calls fake news. I want you all to know that we are fighting the fake news. Its fake. Phony. Fake. A few days ago, i called the fake news the enemy of the people and they are. They are the enemy of the people. Because they have no sources. They just make them up when there are none. Just hours after that speech at cpac the white house held a press briefing but not open to all reporters. Los Angeles Times and hail and politico were some of the outlets barred from the briefing. Has this ever happened before . Never. The Associated Press and time were invited but they declined to attend in opposition. Spicer defended the decision to limit the press. I think that we have shown in abundance of accessibility. We have brought more reporters into this process and the idea that every time that every Single Person cant get their question answered or fit in a room that we are excludeing people we have gone above and beyond to making our team and briefing more accessible than any Prior Administration so i think you can take that to the bank. That is fake news. I dont know what he would base that on. I can ns he is upset but i used to defend sean. This is indefensible. He knows better. As much as they may not like some things that are being written about them, you dont take it on by barring people. You counter it with facts. Its an unfortunate moment and im hopeful that sean and perhaps those in the white house will try to dissuade this president , whomever else might be behind these decisions. What is the end game here, mark halpern . This war with the media that is getting so ugly. By the way, this is a nice guy. But his very first act in this presidency was to walk out and do a hostage video talking about crowd size. Obviously, forced by his boss whose ego was so busted by people talking about his crowd size that he actually made his press person walk out there and do a press availability on crowd size. And they are talking about his very first act in this presidency, and they are looking at the media as not being honest and trustworthy . This is getting a little bit concerning. America, not just the Washington Press corps. America needs to stand up. This is a fundamental principle about the press holding the power of the white house being accountable. I dont think it will stand and im hopeful its not repeated and im hardened by the pretty widespread reaction but everyone should look at this not as some inside baseball thing but a fundamental principle of our democracy being violated. The white house cannot penalize news organizations on the content of their reporting. They cant. I think sean spicer was quoted in november or december saying barring legitimate news organizations from the White House Briefing that is what dictators do. He said that back in december. Right. That is what this reeks of. I agree with everything mark just said. Horrible and they should not be doing it. One of the questions they have raised in going after the president so hard and not barring organizations from the briefing but what President Trump said at cpac maybe sensitive about stories related to russia and discredit the press ahead of those stories they know are on in the pipeline. Get to that in a second. I want to look at the poll numbers again, michael steele, and ask you about this. This is President Trumps poll numbers, the latest ones. He is the only president in modern polling history to began a presidency with a net negative rating of 44 . 48 disproof of his job and he is upside down in being knowledgeable and experienced and 18 says he has the right temperament leaving him with a 37 deficit. A lot of people do not think he is doing a good job so far. Michael steele, declaring war with the media and on news organizations, what is the end game . I think that actually plays into that narrative, that he will go out and sight a rasmussen poll that shows 50 or more. The idea that these polls somehow make legitimate, his administration is not something he is going to rely on. I think this was pretty much to what john was saying, a shot cross the bow to the press to say we will control the leverage of access and control the space that youre in. If you want to play with us, youre going to have to play by the rules we set in motion. I think the press is going to be october to do otherwise and that is going to come to a big showdown particularly what john said about other stories that are in thepipe line that will very harsh and severe on the administration. They have to put their big boy pants on and deal with this stuff effectively without violating the rights of citizens and the press. If seems studying and knowing trump over the years this is a personality issue. This is a guy obsessed with the press, whose office in new york city is adorned with pictures of him in the press and who often called the press all the time. Was always obsessed with being in the media and characterized the right way. On friday one of the things he said at cpac Anonymous Sources should not be allowed. He has his own Anonymous Organization in new york city. The media will not be distracted from these fights from our fundamental acts. I think the big question for the president and the people around him are they going to be distracted by this . Because they need to deal with the press, they need to worry about these russia stories but are they going to pass tax reforms or health care owe infrastructure . We have seen administrations involved in fights like this. They can be distracting and as you suggested the president can be extracted by this too. He will not be judged by history whether he beats the press. He will be judged by i dont think these fights advance him to rally his base. They rally his base. Which is what a lot of this about. I agree with everything mark just said. Even parts of his debates we saw over the weekend i think darrell issa is called for the appointment of a special prosecutor to look into some of these matters involving russia. I think you would be hardpressed to find any reasonable person to suggest that darrell issa, somehow a left leaning liberal or somehow sympathetic to democratic calls. To your point i dont think there is any doubt. There must be stories and other things they are concerned about but they will not stop the press doing their job and may not confront the press and lay out facts like they want and not able to stop members of congress who look at these facts and say it warrants a different approach. This approach to the press almost seems infinile. It is short sided and shows a complete lack of understanding first of all, how washington works but how the press covers news and these news organizations. Should we gave him all of the attention a year ago. He loves it. Sucked up all of the press in these news organization. Michael steele, jump in. The press has been an effective tool for donald trump he has used throughout his public career and business and now in politics. It has remained so until it isnt and that is what he is up against. You know, its one thing, you know, to be the new york businessman, developer, socialite. Its another thing to be a leader of the free world and the Washington Press corps is not the new york press corps. The Washington Press corps is not the foreign correspondents. It is a group of men and women who are dedicated to laying out the story of an administration. I think that mark hit it right. Hes got to understand that they are not going away. The stories arent going away. I wasnt going to go here but you bring up something interesting. President trumps understanding of the press is a product really of all of the years he was embattled with the new york tabloids and colluding with them. Linda stuffy who chronicled, i guess his marriages and gossip stuff, his marriage to marla maples in the 90s, said she could have predicted his president i president ialgaita. He would plant stories and get mad if they didnt come out as he wanted. It never occurred to him he couldnt control anything. Now she says he is shocked he is not in control of the press. Multiple reports have come out saying President Trump hid his own identity to push selfpromoting stories back in the 1980s, posing on the phone, like with an accent or something, as his own Public Relations man unship under the fake names of john miller and john barron. This is our president. Last spring, the Washington Post posted a audio clip of this. Take a listen. This miller guy seems to know a lot about donald trump. He does a great trump iltatii imitation of miller. When the tapes emerged last may, President Trump denied that it was him. I dont think it was me. It doesnt sound like me. I dont know what they are talking about. Have no idea. The post office said this is something you did rather routinely, you would call reporters and plant stories and say either you were john miller or john bar ron but it was you on the phone spp is that something you did with any regularity . It wasnt me on the phone. It was not me on the phone i will tell you that and it wasnt me on the phone. When was this . 25 years ago . We will end the block with this. Maureen dowd writes in the New York Times our president s most intense primal torrid relationship is in full the war of the roses bloom. Its with the press. The mirror for the first narcissus. President trump thinks that the mirror is cracked and the coverage is fake. And many in the press spanning the ideological spectrum think he is cracked and a lot of his pronouncements are fake. Can this strange sip be saved . Probably not and be like a play where the attraction is toxic. Trump could not live without the press. It is his krak crack. While many in the press may disdain the way trump uses them to rile up the crowds and deflect from transgression. We need a credible president very badly. We need credibility from him. I feel more concerned about the success of his presidency every day when he acts like this. Just to say even on friday, as he was decrying Anonymous Sources his own administration is serving not only leakers but his direction serving as Anonymous Sources and on background and having their name attached every day. So many leaks in the administration. I talk to so many people who have no idea im talking to the other person and the other person because everybody in there is scared. Everybody in there is trying their best but they are scared. And they dont like the way things are going so they are sort of incredulous and they call hoping to get stories out there, hoping to shape things from the outside. Ive never seen anything like that. Ive never seen so many people talking outside of the Administration Just sort of in almost with desperation in their voices. There has never been anything like it. Never been anything like it. Still ahead on morning joe, democrats chose tom perez to lead their comeback and its met with consternation in the party. Can he right the ship in later president of the White House Correspondents jeff mason on President Trumps decision to sit out of the annual dinner. From the democratic leadership, senator dick durbin joins us here on set. Morning joe will have special coverage of President Trumps address to congress. We will be live on capitol hill tomorrow and wednesday morning at 6 00 a. M. First, bill karins with a check on the forecast. We end february talking about tornadoes. Seems like we havent had much in the winter storms and dealt with Severe Weather than anything else and do it again. Today, not so bad. Heavy rain through mississippi and tennessee. Watch out around new orleans, mobile, maybe isolated severe storms. Tomorrow the tornadoes are in the forecast. Little rock to memphis and south of st. Louis. This is tuesday. Then we take that storm and blow it all the way to the eastern seaboard. This is the wednesday map. This is 62 Million People under the risk of severe storm. Mostly wind damage and isolated tornadoes and tennessee, northern alabama, mississippi and we could see the strong thunderstorms heading all the way into areas like washington, d. C. By the time we get to wednesday afternoon. So, again, this is going to be tomorrow and then into the first day of march on wednesday dealing with Severe Weather across the south and through the midatlantic region. It was extremely warm over the weekend. Many areas east of the rockies. D. C. Had amazing weather and looks like more unusual warmth heading your way. Youre watching morning joe. We will be right back. Let it sink in. Shouldnt we say we have the lowest price . 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Lets take a trip to la plata, colombia. This is boris calvo. Thats pepe. Boris doesnt just grow good coffee, boris grows mindblowing coffee. And because we pay him a fair price, he improves his farm to grow even Better Coffee and invest in his community, which makes his neighbor, gustavo, happy. Thats blanca. Yup, pepe and blanca got together. Things happen. All this for a smoother tasting cup of coffee. Green mountain coffee. Packed with goodness. The results are 235 for mr. Perez and 200 for mr. Ellison. It is my great honor it is now my honor it is my honor now to present the gavel of the next chair of the Democratic National committee to mr. Tom perez. Mr. Perez, congratulations. The Democratic Party elected tom perez the next chair of the dnc and beating out keith ellison. Some of the spourers fupporters ellison were chanting. Then perez maimed ellison his deputy chairman. The two called on the crowd for the democrats to come together. If you came here supporting me, if youre wearing a keith tshirt or any tshirt, i am asking you to give everything you got to support chairman perez. We will all be able to say whether youre sitting here, whether youre sitting outside, or whether youre looking on across america, we will all be able to say, the yuted Democratic Party led the resistance, ensured that this president was a oneterm president and elected democrats across this country. Mark halpern, what do you make of this new team and how it went down over the weekend . I think given the candidates is the best outcome the party could get. The Democratic Party is in an extraordinarily weak position and a lot to do and i think the word is still out whether perez will rebuild the party and make the party acceptable to business at the same time which needs to be done for any viable party. I think he has got a chance to do it but the Democratic Party has a lot bigger problems right now. They do. Where do you begin with sort of their order of business in terms of bringing the Party Back Together . First of all, take a look at jimmy carter. He was talking during a sermon at a Church Service yesterday about the defeat of the democrats. In the 2016 election, a lot of the working people i cant believe workers too t but in georgia and and in pennsylvania. Vote democratic and vote republicans because they felt neglected. We will hear from Hillary Clinton in just a second. Harold ford, jimmy carter was like joe biden, concerned about the people that they were forgetting in the runup to the election. Can this new team sort of capture the message . I hope. I think what he was saying and if i heard him correctly that we ran a campaign where we had message for blacks and hispanics and women and gays and we forgot we are one country. Obama gave that great speech where he talked about we are not a red or blue but a purple nation. We have to find our way back to a message like that and deal with the everyday issues that Everyday Americans are dealing with. I thought it was interesting in the poll you showed with President Trump being upside down in some areas. He remained a net positive in some areas whether or not he would change washington or whether or not it was bold and decisive and things i think a lot of americans are looking for that people thought were lacking and think traits were lacking with democrats. The question for democrats now is the worn wing of the party been weakened . If it has been, that is fine on one level but we cant ignore the enormous interview that exists on that side of the party. How do you bring that energy with the moderate wing of the party which i represent in a lot of ways and i think is our path back. Not just for the white house but the key seats. As chairman perez said up and down and about. Probably smart for him to convene democratic mayors across the country so say what are you dealing with and all across the country deal with crime. Listen and if youre serious about the message from the bottom up let the message come from the bottom up and listen to those leaders, including that one fellow from south bend, indiana. I cant pronounce his name. Mayor pete. I thought he was impressive. Bring him in and convene a group of young mayors and young elected officials how the Democratic Party allows them and empowers them and allows their movement to move to the forefront. The chairman of the Democratic Party never historically nor the chairman of the Republican Party has been the person who creates the image or the message of the party. The reform of the party takes leaders, elected leaders who step forward and capture the imagination of the party. Bernie sanders and Elizabeth Warren are not weakened by tom perez becoming chairman of the dnc. A big fight will happen in the Democratic Party. The party chair is not the person who is going to change the party and figure out what the party is about. It has to be elected leaders of the party. Im not disagreeing with you, harold. Party chairs are functionary. This was a symbolic move. What the Democratic Party becomes over the next four years is going to be fought out among people like Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders and Chuck Schumer and nancy pelosi and others who step forward to become president ial candidates in 2020. I agree with you. Do you recall a time in our lifetimes when the party chair of any party has received this kind of attention after president ial race . I dont. Because the Democratic Party has been decimated. Speaking of. We thought we were going to win this race. The person who we thought was going to win or we, i say in the collective we. I actually was really concerned in the weeks leading up to the election. Hillary clinton tweet out congrats to dnc chair tom perez and deputy keith ellison. On friday, she released a video urging democrats to stay defiant. We, as democrats, must move forward with courage, confidence, and optimism and stay focused on the elections we must win this year and next. Let resistance, plus persistence, equal progress for our party and our country. As long as we stand together and Work Together with respect for our differences, strength in our convictions, and love for our country, our best days are still ahead. So keep fighting and keep the faith, and ill be right there with you every step of the way. Michael steele, am i oversimplifying it, or is there a potential for democrats to make some headway in those crowds that are showing up at town halls worried about their health care being taken away . Well, absolutely. I dont think youre being short sided on this point at all. Having been in the spot that the new chairman perez finds himself in now on the heels of the election of barack obama, i walked into the rnc. We had no cash coming in. Had just lost a big election. The party was splintered at its base. When you have the white house i would agree with john. The chairman is a functionary because it is supposed to coordinate the dollars that the president is raising and making sure that the building is doing what its supposed to do. But when you dont have that, when your base is practiced and when you have no core message at the moment, youve got to be the person who pulls all of that together and working through the National Organization and using the chairman at the state level. This is all about the grassroots. You cannot overlook or underestimate the power of those forces on the ground. So chairman perez will be wise to do that, to begin to form with those individuals a message that really speaks to what Hillary Clinton was saying if that is the pathway they want to take where they show resistance, but where they also showing where they can be confident and becoming a governing majority two, four, six years from now. Coming up, Top Republicans appear divided over whether a special prosecutor should investigate the Trump Campaigns ties to russia. That story is ahead on morning joe. I love how usaa gives me the peace of mind and the security just like the marines did. At one point, i did change to a Different Company with car insurance, and i was not happy with the Customer Service. We have switched back over and we feel like were back home now. The process through usaa is so effortless, that you feel like youre a part of the family. I love that i can pass the membership to my children, and that they can be protected. 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Businesses count on communication, and communication counts on centurylink. Africanamerican child, family, and worker, to have access to Great Schools and safe communities and good paying jobs. I want every disadvantaged child in america to have a choice about where they go to school. So important. I also want to honor and promote the achievements of historically black colleges and universities throughout our nation. They do a fantastic job. They are not given the credit that they deserve and they are going to start getting that credit. In order to help africanamericans thrive, we are working very hard to make sure that every child can grow up in a Safe Community and have access to high paying jobs. We have lost a lot of our best jobs to other countries and this has hurt the Africanamerican Community very badly. This week, i met with manufacturing ceos who are going to be working to bring back those jobs, and i mean really good paying jobs. That was President Trump in the weekly president ial address this past weekend focusing on africanamericans. Mark halpern, how would you describe the president s weekly address . What he said . He set the tradition up and this was well written and seemed like emotionally delivered than is norm. Its surprised to me the addresses prior to this one havent gotten more attention. We have stealing cell phones and lashing out at fake news. Think about that. It was good but who is going to believe us, right . How he is going to break through with that when he is out there tweeting. If you listen to the whole thing, it was good. Very well done. Its hard to disagree with anything he said in the speech. He doesnt want what we need. Good to hear no, im not being cynical. No, i know. Joining us now is the president of the National Urban league. Chime in. Lets listen to tomorrow night and see if anything that came across in that weekly address is expressed in the president s speech to the joint session of congress. As is the case, the proof is in the policy. Whether, in fact, the words and the vision or the statements made by the president come through in public policy. And that is really the question. I agree that historically black colleges and universities are crucial to the country. Havent gotten the support and credit that they deserve. But what they need is support, not just credit, but support to help the students attend those schools and remain in those schools. So you went with ivanka trump and Linda Mcmahon to baltimore and you chos the location. Iv ivanka is on the forefront of some positive things. Very small. I met her about a month ago. We learned that we had the university of pennsylvania in common and had a professor or two in common who as the world turns out, we had a conversation. I invited her as ill do in anyone who is interested to visit one of the National Urban leagues entrepreneurship centers. We have 12. One in baltimore. She took us up on the offer and a chance for her to learn to about 12 entrepreneurs, women and minority entrepreneurs, to talk about how our program in baltimore was helping them, how some of our relationships with 10,000 Small Businesses and other Partner Organizations was helping them and some of the challenges these entrepreneurs face. So i think she listened very intently. I was impressed with her knowledge and interest in the subject of women and minority entrepreneurs. We had one a year ago. In this year we had ivan trump and Linda Mcmahon and dina powell. I will have anybody who wants to len about the strength of investing in our minority entrepreneurs. Dina powell is a strong pick to back up ivanka trump if this is what her focus is. A network of people. Yes. That wide network helped to bring we know that. Personally. Michael steele, jump in. Yeah, no. I thought the address by the president was spot on and that is going to follow today or maybe tomorrow with an executive order on hbcus and a lot of folks very anxious to hear what the president down in writing to sort of fill out his promise to do more with and for these institutions, which have been largely forgotten since the bush administration, which was the last administration to really focus on how to drill down and make these institutions a bigger part of the occasionally fabric. I think given what mark is saying, the other important piece in the black community is not just the entrepreneur but the educational piece and how secretary devos is able to roll out strategies that empower those urban communities for those families to lift those kids up in failing Public Schools and goes beyond Charter Schools but do something subsequently with the school and the neighborhood in which i live, that will go much farther than anything else the administration can do at this moment. Harold ford . I think michaels point is spot on. Do you think that that issue come up education . And, two, did you ask specific things of young ivanka no. I think she is impressive and i think she has a bigger role than she is given credit for. Let me say about the policy. Vouchers would be devastating to black kids and it would drain money from Public Schools into what i call speculative schools in many communities, right . So im curious to see what the real policy is. What we need is to stay the course of commitment above High Standard and questionable funding and i hope youll be open and the administration will be open. Mark, please stop talk the talking points with the educational issue . Im not. You look at washington, d. C. You look at the former black mayor of washington, d. C. Bringing those Voucher Programs to the School System here. Why . Because he wanted to create the competition. He was a democrat. He wasnt a republican. So the idea of ally as im for or against something lets see how we make it work and not separating them out. Parents want choice. They want choice in the Public Schools and choice for their kids. It includes vouchers and it includes charter. It also includes getting up off our butts and doing something for failing Public Schools right now. Beyond just the hot rhetoric of we dont want violence. Let me say this. In louisiana, vouchers were a flop, michael. Vouchers, if you will, part of the right wing talking point agenda. What people want is quality Public Schools. They want a quality opportunity. Do you know why it was a flop . And what was done to fix it . I allowed you to finish, michael. Sorry, sir. Thank you. They do not work. They drain money from what we need to do to focus. 95 of kids go to a Public School in america. Many work well. Many in inner cities do not work well. They just dont. Inner cities do not work well. The formula that works in suburbs which are probably resource Public Schools, parental engagement and a commitment to High Standards, we need to apply that to Public Education. But, mark im open so quality chaverters bchaverrters but i think vouchers are a mistake and no comprehensive proof. My daughter lives in baltimore. She tutors in a Public School in baltimore and there are kids coming to her that held a 0. 47 average. That is under 1. They are beyond failing and they have no family involvement. So the concept youre describing is built on a premise that these kids in the inner cities have something that they dont have. But let me say this. If we are committed to Public Education, if we are committed to having a strong Public Education system, we need to focus on High Standards, we need to focus on better commitment to parental engagement and we need to commit to proper resourcing. Many of the Public Schools in baltimore have no, if you will, Extracurricular Activities and very high student teacher ratios in many inner schools. So im hope to looking at innovation but what i dont want is rank experimentation, particularly if there is no proof, Something Like vouchers, that its really worked. Michael . I can give you an example of a Voucher Program that works. The opportunity scholars here in washington, d. C. The Voucher Program that enables up to 1700 students here in the district of columbia to have a choice in their education. It works. I can also tell you as a former Lieutenant Governor of the state that reviewed our occasional system in maryland we put together a competitive strategy that looks at education to the eyes of children leaving nothing off the table. I agree with a lot of what youre saying, mark, but one size fits all approach is just old school. Just not let me finish. It is not a one size fits all. It is beholding to a strategy that no longer works and you need to give these parents and these kids in these inner cities and urban communities a chance to pull themselves up. If youre sitting there with a 0. 1 average, youve got to do something more than just talk about it. Give them choices. Talking about the voucher. The premise of a voucher there are private schools that exist. That can accommodate the additional students that would be transferred. Not just private schools. Hold on, michael. Youre interrupting me. Let me finish. Thank you. And that is the premise of it. I suggest that you point to comprehensive examples where vouchers have worked. I think its the wrong approach. Lets continue to have the debate. Ive been open because in my own hometown in new orleans, well regulated nonprofit Charter Schools have made a difference. But to suggest that it is a comprehensive strategy is certainly not the let me ask you this. In your event with ivanka, dina and Linda Mcmahon do you think they understand the concept of thousand these multilayers are . I think so. What we were focused on was on minority Business Enterprise and Small Business entrepreneurs. I think providing them with an opportunity to see how a Public Private approach led by the urban league is making a difference. Because i think for a problem like entrepreneurship, Public Private approaches can make a difference. I think they understood it. What is most important they got an opportunity to hear it directly from the entrepreneurs in baltimore. Mark, thank you very much. We will be right back. All of my purchasing. And that unlimited 2 cash back from spark means thousands of dollars each year going back into my business. Which adds fuel to my bottom line. Whats in your wallet . Itbut one i think with quesa simple answer. We have this need to peek over our neighbors fee. And once we do, we see wonder waiting. Every step you take, narrows the influence of narrow minds. Bridges continents and brings this world one step closer. So, the question you asked me. What is the key . Its you. Everything in one place, so you can travel the world better. This president s day, get to nissan now. And save on a lineup with intelligent safety features. And americas best truck warranty. Take on the everyday, with six 2017 iihs top safety picks. Its clear why were americas Fastest Growing auto brand. Now, get president s day offers like 0 financing for up to 72 months on 11 models. Or save up to 4550 on select models. Great sleep. We engineered every inch of the casper mattress to make it possible. A subtle bounce, just the right sink, we even designed a unique foam thats breathable for all night coolness. You can try it at home for 100 nights with Free Shipping and free returns try the internets Favorite Mattress at casper dot com. Its league night . saved money on motorcycle insurance with geico goin up the country. Bowl without me. Frank. im going to get nachos. Snack bars closed. Gah ah, ah ah. Im goin up the country, baby dont you wanna go . Im goin up the country, baby dont you wanna go . Geico motorcycle, great rates for great rides. Very unfortunate what happened. Personally, i blame steve harvey for this. I would like to see you get an oscar any way. Why cant we give out a whole bunch of them . Ill be proud to hand these to my friend from moonlight. That was bad. Thats a mistake. Has that happened . Gets more publicity for moonlight. I thought it was a joke. Welcome back to morning joe. Its monday, february 27th. Joe has got the more thanning off. With us is coauthors of game change mark halpern and John Heilemann and former democratic congressman harold ford jr. And former head of the republican National Committee michael steele. author of the book of diagnosis in black eddie glaude jr. Willie is not here either. He had a late night. You know why . His sister libby geist, and ep on the o. J. Documentary, they won an oscar. Here is that announcement followed by willies family reacting. They kind of were excited. Just a little bit. Take a look. And the oscar goes to o. J. [ screaming ] willie and his parents libby geist. She won an oscar and they are a little happy. Oh, my gosh. The video sent in by the geist family. Look at willie im so happy for them. Its so good that documentary. I dont watch anything and ive watched like five hours of it. Its so good. Epic television. Now to the epic blunder. When someone gave Warren Beatty the wrong envelope for the nights biggest prize. The Academy Award for best picture. Youre awful. Gosh. La la land. Oh, my god. Right after announcing la la land you hear a confused Warren Beatty saying off camera, it says here emma stone. The filmmakers from la la land take to the stage for accept the award, an accountant from pricewaterhouse came running on stage and had to do this. Im sorry. No. There is a mistake. Moonlight you guys won best picture. Moonlight won. This is not a joke. This is not a joke. Im afraid they read the wrong thing. This is not a joke. Moonlight has won best picture. Moonlight best picture. I would like to see you get an oscar any way. Why dont we give out a whole bunch of them . I will be real proud to hand these to my friends at moonlight. Warren, what did you do . I want to tell you what happened. I opened the envelope and it said emma stone la la land. Thats why i took such a long look at faye and at you. I wasnt trying to be funny. Oh, my gosh. The hollywood audience just as shocked as everyone at home. Filmmakers of moonlight take the stage to claim their award. Very clearly, even in my dreams, this could not be true but the hell with dreams. Im done with it because this is true. Oh, my goodness. And i have to say it is true. It is not fake. We have been on the road with these guys so long and so gracious and generous to them. My love to la la land. I dont know what to say. Im not sure this is real but thank you to the academy and so humbling to be standing up with here still the no, they are gone. Its very humbling to be up here. Edit eddie, what happened . Everyone was very confused. How did they mess that up . And faye dunaway, everything thinks Warren Beatty sold her out. I think he is trying to let her know he had the wrong card and she just read it. That was so gracious by the producer. The producer of la la land. Even though it was a mistake it was a beautiful moment. Get more people to see moonlight which is all good. And both films. Now to politics. A day before the president makes his first address to a joint session of congress, new nbc news the wall street journal poll shows his him a historic disapproval rating. He is the only president in modern polling to begin his presidency with a net negative rating 44 of americans approve. 48 disproof of his job in official so far. It shows a lot of people like his policies. Tomorrow night is an opportunity to talk about policy that people are open to or, in some cases, like a lot. As opposed to all of the personality stuff come ironically, a guy who rose on the power of his personality has not been serving him well with the majority of americans. Eddie, what are you looking for . I dont know if you heard his address over the weekend this which was pretty strong. It was good. Im looking for trump to model what we heard from steve bannon at cpac so im looking for the three buckets. I expect to hear something about National Security and sovereignty and economic nationalism and the deconstruction of the administrative state. There will be talk about the regulation rollback. Im pretty unsettled by the construction of the state as a shorthand for all of these policies and i think we need to pay close attention to what that means. I think what it means in a nutshell is the dismantling of the new deal. Is the final effort to kind of strip away those guarantees that i think would benefit the very people who, in so many ways, are excite about the policies. At the same time, the president saying he is not going to touch we also see he is rolling back in the leaks in terms of the preliminary budget process. He is going to roll back significant funding for epa as we came out of february. Repeal obamacare. And reduce the budget for the state department. So i think we have the military. We have a lot to talk about. The numbers come as the white house is cracking down on leaks coming out of the west wing. A paranoia that has taken over the white house. I mean, ive never actually i cant im trying to envision what this looked like in the ro room, what the looks on peoples faces were. According to politico, press Secretary Sean Spicer met with a dozen of his communications staffers to discuss recent leaks. Twelve people in a room. I guess apparently with some white house lawyers present . Is what im hearing. Starves we staffers were told to dump their government issue and personal phone and to hand them over to prove they had nothing to hide. Can you imagine that scene . What did they do . Look in the phones and read them outloud . The irony somebody leaked this story to politico. So you still have leaking problems big time. Bigtime leakers. What is the word he uses . Bigly . Bigly. The news comes as President Trumps relationship with the trump continues to escalates. On friday he doubled down on his criticism of fake news. I want you all to know that we are fighting the fake news. Its fake. Phony. Fake. A few days ago, i called the fake news the enemy of the people and they are. They are the enemy of the people. Because they have no sources. They just make them up when there are none. Actually, the sources are in your administration. They are calling the press. Every second of the day. Including some high level people. Really nervous. Very high level people are calling the press all the time leaking. Strange how he reconciles those words with the fact that his own press secretary asked his staffers to come in and hand over the phones because there is a they suspect somebody in that group is leaking. They may have found stuff on their phones but those arent the its happening at every level. Very much wondering where their jobs stand. A lot of people paranoid they are going to lose their positions and a lot of people just looking at what is happening saying, oh, my god, how do we keep this train on track . A lot of pressure. And a piece in the New York Times today about the use of the phrase the enemy of the people even cruise ship wouldnt use that phrase. No. The problem who is the enemy of the people . The leakers talking to the president pres . They are in your administration. Michael steele . Yeah, no. I think the key point. Sean spicer asking his com shop to drop their phones on the table . Big whop that is not the source of the leaking. The leaking is coming all over the administration and some in the offices of the west wing have nothing to do with the com shop. I think if the Administration Want to be serious about this they have to be competitive about it and this is not the way to solve that problem because its not just in seans office. Your top ten people just hand over the phones. The president needs to look in the mirror and realize this is from people who want help him and not hurt him on almost every instance. I agree with that. There is a fear that they cant talk to him. So they try and find othervon to communicate. Hours after that speech at cpac, the white house held a press briefing but not open to all reporters. Cnn, buzzfeed and the New York Times and the l. A. Times and hill and politico some of outlets barred from covering the briefing. The Associated Press and time were invited but declined to attend in opposition to unity. Spicer defended the decision to limit the press. I think that we have shown in abundance of accessibility. We have brought more reporters into this process and the idea that every time that every Single Person cant get their question answered or fit in a room that we are excludeing people we have gone above and beyond to making our team and briefing more accessible than any Prior Administration so i think you can take that to the bank. There is a different spicer that we have for you. Back in december, here he is. We have a respect for the press. When it comes to the government. That that is something you cant ban and entity from. You know, conservative, liberal, or otherwise, i think that is what makes a democracy versus a dictatorship. Let that marinate yeah. Yeah. Is that where were at . Anybody want to participate . He just described himself. 70 days may be a long time in his mind. That was 70 days ago. Are they trying to create a dictatorship . Im not joking and im not angry. One of the things that i think we have been talking about on this show, over the time that ive been part of it, is joe and you have mentioned the importance of democratic institutions, holding in check, right . The autocratic tendencies of donald trump and his administration. What we might be seeing here is an attempt to erode some of those institutions and here the Fourth Estate is under attack and if you read, the Fourth Estate is crucial to the workings of democracy. Im deeply disturbed by this. At the same time, that we are focusing on the banning of news outlets from the gaggle, there is priebus talking to the fbi. There are folks trying to impact stories so there is something happening here. Well, you have ill read from kathleen parker. You have a weekend i think the president had one of his best moments, president ial moments. If you look at his weekly address, it was good. But we really cant talk about that because either were the fake news and you shouldnt be watching. Or youve got this press spokesperson who clearly is now describing months ago what would be a dictatorship and banning Media Outlets. Kathleen parker writes this in. The Washington Post spicer makes an impossible job even harder. To give him the benefit of the doubt his job must be the hardest in the history of press secretarieses. Explaining trump is a relentless, thankless task for which he will be punished one way or another. Unlike most press secretaries who typically come from the reporting world, spicer is a veteran flak with a flaks contempt for the media. What is missing, also a missed opportunity, is the camaraderie and Mutual Respect that often develop in the Media Briefing room. Spicer would do well and would be well served if he would treat all reporters with the same respect he wishes for himself. Theyre a loathesome bunch to be sure. But theyre also suckers for on pros who are selfaware enough not to take themselves or this business too seriously. I dont think sean spicer takes him too seriously. I think he is a really nice guy in a really bad position. And i think he wears you can see the bad position that he is in, written all over his face, which ultimately i think may undermine his effectiveness. The decision to exclude legitimate news organizations from a regular briefing, not a private you cant do it. Is a fight they will lose and should lose. Where does that decision come from . I dont think clear but i think they compounded their by not being honest. Do you think sean spicer made that decision . I dont think he did. This is the crowd size hostage video where he went out and did something he doesnt believe in but i think had he been a veteran journalist, it would have been, no, mr. President , no. You cant do this. You cant do this. Ill walk out. They defended by giving an explanation that it doesnt match up with the facts. And its going to be, as i said, a distraction. We cant be distracted by it in terms of doing our jobs. We do have to fight for the principle. They cannot decide who gets to cover the white house based on whether they like the coverage or not. Its not going to work. Every president has tension with the press. This is not new. Of course. Everybody tries to shape stories which we all acknowledge. And i think maybe mark or even michael or maybe eddie, said that its clear, though, this white house decided that their opponent as much as its going to be democrats and whoever democrats put up at various levels, its the press as well and whether its what heilemann said earlier they are anticipating stories in a pipeline or not, they have made clear that the press is a problem for them. So they are going to run against it. They have taken this to a level unseen. I used to feel bad for sean but after watching being reminded what he said back in december. Its what he knows. Its what he knows. Who he is. I dont have any problem him saying things i disagree with or defending policies i may differ with, but this is fundamentally just i think against whom he is and he shouldnt, based on who he said back in hes did, shents be defending this banning news organizations and taking on the media this way is not going to advance the agenda of this white house. If youre in the white house to help the president and you know something narrow political agenda but not advance your policy agenda. Bannon called the media the opposition party. They are the new opposition. Other administrations have, on occasion, done things like this. They have retribution against news organizations against coverage they didnt like but kidding if they think what they did on friday is there any way sean spicer didnt know that before he walked out there . I think he does know. I dont know if they thought no one would protest or have a Chilling Effect . I assume by now they say its not a winnable fight and nor should it be in a free country. I dont think anyone can say no to him. Michael steele . To marks point just now, mark, do you think that donald trump, himself, is really concerned about that part of this, that it didnt work or didnt work as well, or was it just more the effect of knowing that as president , as the white house, west wing, if we want to do this, we will do it . I think it makes him feel good. Unfortunately, because of the behavior of news organizations during the campaign, they, i think, learned a bad lesson which is they got away with it during the campaign and think they can get away with it in the white house. Michael steele, if you were in the white house was would you be advising this president on this issue . Dont do this dont do it are you kidding me . Look. There is truth about going up against the one who, you know, buys their ink by the barrel. And that is the reason not to do it . On no, not the reason not to do it but also, i think, its the respect for the institutions as well and recognizing, i think someone made the point earlier that this is not about you personally. This is about just covering your administration. You tell us the story. We will cover the story. And i think if they appreciate that, they can get past the personal stuff going on right now. The story right now they are barring the media from press briefings and handing over cell phones apparently in a state of swirling paranoia. Still ahead on morning joe, President Trump said he will not attend this years White House Correspondents dinner. That was after bloomberg canned their party and different reporters, including this one said, im not going to this thing when you call this fake news. The last time a president skipped the dinner in 1981, Ronald Reagan missed it because he was recovering from a gunshot wound after a failed assassination attempt. He still called in to provide a few remarks. We are going to speak live with the head of the White House Correspondents association. Plus, President Trump, once again, exaggerates how big his crowd sizes are. You folks are in here. This place is packed. There are lines that go back six blocks. And i tell you that because you wont read about it, okay . Because there are lines that go back six blocks. When i walked in here before the ballroom was declared to be at capacity, there were no lines at the magnetometer to get in and our truck operators have not found anyone outside of this sprawling complex here in national harvard. Jared . Just remember. Its not a lie if you believe it thanks, man. 2 united club passes. Priority boarding. And 50,000 bonus miles. Everything you need for an unforgettable vacation. The united mileageplus explorer card. Imagine where it will take you. 90 of the Worlds Largest supercomputers run on intel . 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I think it is naive of us to think we can all walk into a room for a couple of hours and pretend that some of the tension isnt there. You know, one of the things we say in the south, if a girl scout egged your house would you buy cookies from her . I think this is a pretty similar scenario. There is no reason for him to go in and sit and pretend like this is going to be just another saturday night. Who is throwing eggs . What are they talking about . They are literally making up something that doesnt exist. That was White House Press secretary Sarah Huckabee sanders defending the president s decision to skip the White House Correspondents dinner. Joining us from capitol hill is White House Correspondent for reuters, jeff mason. He is the current president of the White House Correspondents association. Jeff, thanks for being with us. My pleasure. So this dinner has been controversial over the years. Sometimes its been criticized for being a little too cozy or a little bit too showy and flashy in hollywood, whatever. Describe what the point of the dinner is at this point. Sure. I think its a great question. The overall point of the White House Correspondents dinner is to celebrate the first amendment, to celebrate journalism and celebrate the good work of the members of the Correspondents Association and other journalists who write about boxes ovpolitics over thed what we will be doing with or without the participation of President Trump. We also give scholarships to up and coming student journalists and journalist to showcase the excellent talent that is the next generation of our professi profession. We look forward to celebrating that again this year. Often, the way that is done is through humor, correct . Sure. Yeah. There are jokes. And, honestly, mika, id like to say the accordance association has worked very hard this year to build a constructive relationship with the trump white house. I think in many ways we have succeeded. And we would have liked to have showcased that at the dinner. That doesnt mean this comes in the context of very, very negative rhetoric coming from the president of the United States. But its important, i think, for viewers to know that despite that rhetoric, we have worked well with the trump white house. We have had many opportunities for journalists to ask questions of the president and of his press team. And those things count and those things are also things we would have and will celebrate at this dinner. Your reaction to the president saying he is not going . Well, i was surprised. I was surprised that we hadnt had chance to even talk about it, except in passing a couple times over the last month. We have been focusing on a lot of major challenges between the press and the white house and the dinner is, you know, not been at the top of our list for that. Right. But we are planning that dinner. We are working very hard and we are going to have that dinner. And if the president changes his mind, he is still welcome. Okay. The roots of the president s distaste for the White House Correspondents dinner and some say his 2016 candidacy for president can be traced back to 2011 when his potential candidacy and crusade for president obamas birth certificate was the butt of jokes. Obviously, we all know about your credentials and breadth of experience. For example, no, seriously. Just recently in an episode of Celebrity Apprentice at the steak house, the Mens Cooking Team did not impress the judges from omaha steaks. And there was a lot of blame to go around, but you, mr. Trump, recognized that the real problem was a lack of leadership, and so, ultimately, you didnt blame little john or meatloaf. You fired gary busey. These are the kind of decisions that would keep me up at night. Donald trump has been saying he will run for president as a republican which is surprising since i just assumed he was running as a joke. I like that trump is filthy rich but nobody told his accent. His whole life is gold columns but still sounds like a know it all. Mr. Trump may not be a good choice for president but he would definitely make a good press secretary. How much fun would that be . Kim jongil is a loser. Its latest rally was a flop. I feel back for ahmadinejad. He never wears a windbreaker. He has no class. I, aerneon the other hand, sell own toois and can you find them at macys. He doesnt like to laugh at himself is what im told but he cant. Mark halpern . Manage smg that i think a lot of senior accomplished people have and going to that dinner would have been a challenge for him. Although i agree with jeff. He might change his mind. Jeff, ask you two things. One, do you examine other members of the administration to attend and participate in the dinner . Two, what will the Correspondents Association posture be Going Forward if sean spicer tries to restrict news organizations to attend briefings . We sell tables to members of the association and they are welcome to invite whomever they want. Im sure there will be people from this administration there and they are welcome. On your second question, the Correspondents Association objected be to what happened on friday where certain news organizations were not included in the press gaggle or briefing. We have been in talks with them about and working hard to make sure Something Like that doesnt happen again. If it does, how would you characterize the problem . Well, i guess the first thing i would say, mika, i want to put it in the larger context of what has happened during this first month. During the first month, sean spicer has been briefing regularly from the Briefing Room and on television and that is what we asked for. And so that is important not to forget. The fact that they did not include a bunch of organizations on friday is certainly a concern. And, of course, it comes in the context of President Trump saying things like the fact that he believes the media is the enemy of the American People. We absolutely do not believe that. The media is in a critical part of a u. S. Democracy and those are the values we are fighting for. If this happens again then we will have to talk about it with our members about how to proceed but im hoping we get the message across and im hoping the white house realizes its not in their interest just as its not in the interest of a free press. Jeff mason, thank you very much. Ahead, another high profile appointee from the president bows out. We will tell you who it was. Also ahead, we look back at the life of actor bill paxton. A mainstay of some of the most iconic movies of the last half century. And remember judge whopner who made a lasting impression on movies as well. Four minutes. Just shut up and stand there im sorry, maam. Im very sorry about that. That man right there is my brother. If he doesnt get to watch people in 30 seconds he will throw a fit right here on your porch from the minute i wake up. Im on. And on. And on. Thats why i. Make time for myself. And give my body some love. With aveeno® daily moisturizing lotion. Its active naturals® oat formula. Locks in moisture to improve skin wellness in just one day. I really needed that. I bet you do too. Aveeno® naturally beautiful results® this president s day, get to nissan now. And save on a lineup with intelligent safety features. And americas best truck warranty. Take on the everyday, with six 2017 iihs top safety picks. Its clear why were americas Fastest Growing auto brand. Now, get president s day offers like 0 financing for up to 72 months on 11 models. Or save up to 4550 on select models. And her new mobile wedding business. Tte at first, getting paid was tough. Until she got quickbooks. Now she sends invoices, sees when theyve been viewed andtadahpaid twice as fast for free. Visit quickbooksdotcom. As a navy admiral i commanded a caand swore to defend america. Now, im here to defend it again. President trump. The cia and fbi both say russia interfered with our election to help you. And we now know your campaign was in contact with them when it happened. So sir, were putting you on notice. Were demanding speaker ryan and senator mcconnell appoint an independent commission to get the answers. Because defending america means finding the truth. Why pause a spontaneous moment . Cialis for daily use treats ed and the urinary symptoms of bph. Tell your doctor about your medicines, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. Do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, or adempas® for pulmonary hypertension, as this may cause an unsafe drop in Blood Pressure. Do not drink alcohol in excess. To avoid longterm injury, get medical help right away for an erection lasting more than four hours. If you have a sudden decrease or loss of hearing or vision, or an allergic reaction, stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. Ask your doctor about cialis. I think we are going maybe we should get off of this road. Movie star bill paxton has died at the age of 61 following complications from surgery. Paxton starred in classic movies including apollo 13 and twister. They spelled out b. P. On the map using their gps. More recently, paxton starred in a hit tv shows big love and hatfields and mccoys. He told carson daly earlier this month he considered himself a working actor and the tributes from his fellow actors and actresses are pouring in. Jamie lee curtis tweeted a pictures of herself and paxton in the movie owe trtrue lies. Writing the following. And tom hanks writing this. He leaves behind two children and his wife of 30 years, lewis. Bill paxton is dead at 61 ir. The country is remembering judge wapner. He was a world war ii veteran and wounded by sniper fire in the pacific and served two decades in the california courts. On the show that made him a cultural institution, he could be curt with plaintiffs and defendants but known for fairness in his decisions. A the Washington Post poll from 1989 found that while more than 60 of americans couldnt make a Supreme Court justice but 54 of could name judge wapner. He died in los angeles. He was 97 years old. Still ahead one debate the new National Security adviser h. R. Mcmaster seems to be closer to president obamas position than President Trump. We will explain what that is ahead. Want longer lasting heartburn relief . Try. Duo fusion duo fusion goes to work in seconds and lasts up to 12 hours. Tums only lasts up to 3. For longer lasting relief. In one chewable tablet try duo fusion from the makers of zantac but i keep it growing by making every dollar count. Thats why i have the spark cash card from capital one. With it, i earn unlimited 2 cash back on all of my purchasing. And that unlimited 2 cash back from spark means thousands of dollars each year going back into my business. Which adds fuel to my bottom line. Whats in your wallet . W. I was always searching for ways to manage my symptoms. I thought i had it covered. Then i realized managing was all i was doing. When i finally told my doctor, he said humira was for people like me who have tried other medications,. But still experience the symptoms of moderate to severe crohns disease. 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With highspeed internet up to 10 gigabits per second. You wouldnt pick a slow race car. Then why settle for slow internet . Comcast business. Built for speed. Built for business. 42 past the hour. The top democrat on the Senate Intelligence committee is expressing grave concerns over whether to probe President Trumps potential ties to russia and whether it can truly remain independent. In a Statement Released on friday, senator mark warner said that he spoke with Committee Chairman senator richard burr and cia dr. Mike pompeo to discuss his concerns. His decision, he stressed, followed reports that the white house sought the help of Senior Intelligence officials and lawmaker on the house and Senate Intelligence committees to try and combat news stories over those alleged connections. Meanwhile, Top Republicans remain divided over calls for a special prosecutor to handle the investigation. You cannot have somebody, a friend of mine, jeff sessions, who was on the campaign and who was an appointee. You need to use the special prosecutors statute and office to take not just to recuse. You cant just give it to your deputy. That is another political appointee. You do have to do that. I think that is way, way getting ahead of ourselves here. Chuck, no allegations of any crime occurring. There is not even an indication there is criminal investigations on the underway by the fbi. If we get down that road, that is a decision that attorney general sessions can make at the time. That was darrell issa and tom cotton talking about this. Walter russell reed writes this. Trump isnt sounding like a russian mole. If he was the candidate that people keep wanting to believe he is here will some of the things he would be doing. Limiting fracking as much as he possibly could and blocking oil and Gas Pipelines and opening negotiation for Major Nuclear arms reductions and trying to tamp down tensions with russias ally iran. That trump is planning to do the opposite of these things may or may not be good policy for the United States. But anybody who thinks that this is a russia appeasement policy has been drinking way too much joy juice. American needs a solvent and stable press to give this president the skeptical and searching scrutiny he needs. What we are getting is something much wrors for the help of the republic. A blind instinctive rage that lashes out without wounding, that injures its own credibility more than its target, that discredits the press at just the moment where its contributions are most needed. Mark halpern, is that a Fair Assessment about press overreach and common logic . The list of things is a good solid intellectually solid one and some of his opponents are critical about russia but does not explain the fundamental things given the question and to knock down officials whether his campaign is investigated we have two credible news organizations have reported that they are. And go ahead. It seems to be a confusion around what is motivating there. Its that russia russia was involved in our election. Allegedly. Allegedly, right . It seems to me to kind of say he is a manchuran candidate makes us to look someplace else. I think its confusing article. Your straw man, i believe, is the phrase youre looking for. Shorthand for. At the same time, i cant figure out why he just cant i just wonder if its more a psychological thing, that he just is for people who are popular or wellknown or seem strong, that equals good. It could be a as simplistic as that, his possession with putin or inability to say what putin really is to tell the truth. I dont know. I cant its one thing i cant figure out. I think an independent counsel is something the white house has to watch. There is no independent counsel statute any more. The attorney general could have picked as was suggested a u. S. Attorney with a record of independence to look at it. What are the chances that will happen . Right now low. I say an interesting person to have said this, dont tom cotton didnt go nearly that far but he did lean in the notion this needs to be a fair investigation and i think you need to watch on capitol hill as they deal with health care and everybody else that people follow what i just said. The stories as they mount like the story about the white house reaching out to intelligence community, people intelligence members of the Intelligence Committee on the hill asking them to vouch, to knock these stories down, all of that reporting at the end of the week, their problem is not increase the volume of democrats call for an independent council but like darrell issa. A lot of republicans have real estions about this russia issue and if republicans start to break in that direction, the presre on sessions to do that will become considerable. He may or may not bend to it but the pressure will get big if republicans go that direction. The question they have trouble answering i believe if he did nothing wrong if all of these reports are false why not have an independent investigation to remove the shadow of doubt. Had which is clearly there. Including amongst a lot of republicans. A lot of republicans. And a lot of lobbyists. Joining us from the white house Nbc News National Correspondent peter alexander. Apparently another dropout happening . Reporter exactly right. This is the Second Military secretary to withdraw his name before the confirmation process. Philip builtin was an officer for a decade among the concerns he cited were about privacy and separating himself from his private business is interests. Now james mattis, the defense secretary, has to come up with another name to suggest as the next Navy Secretary which notable about this is that his withdraw came basically a week after the white house pushed back firmly against any claims that he would be dropping out. This was the tweet from sean spicer on february 18th. He wrote those people would be wrong who suggest this. Just spoke with him and he is 100 committed to being the next sec navy, pending senate confirm. As for those private Business Concerns he was heavily involved until his recent retirement with a Global Private management firm. Which leaves own the air force secretary the remaining military secretary up for confirmation. Peter, the president s Budget Proposal is expected today. What are be we going to hear . Reporter multiple Senior Administration officials tell me he is going to outline his budget priorities. They will includin the words of one official massive hikes in military Homeland Security, intelligence, and law enforcement. Separately, this official tells me that they will not have any impact on Social Security and medicare and medicaid. Tump is barely mentioning the goal of a balanced budget. He wants his federal government to so much their admiration for trump but the loathing for democrats and their agenda on taxes and deregulation. Old pillars of the reagan evolution. Skepticism about it and bannons economic populism are not below the surface. They yearn for him to deliver. If the results are disappointing, the pieces of his conservative base may not be as dependable as you would like. Michael, what do you think . We need an honest assessment that the reagan revolution is over and the era of Ronald Reagan is done. I think republicans conservatives have to reconcile themselves in this era of trump. He is with bannons and reinces appearance at cpac, his own appearance at cpac opened this front within the conservative movement that is about economic populism, economic nationalism in a way we have not seen before. How do you reconcile Big Government spending programs, whether its 1 trillion for infrastructure, growing defense, et cetera with the idea the folk that is came to congress in 2010 and sense then they wanted a small government, limited spending, reducing the debt and deficit. It will be interesting to see how they do that. So, in terms of military spending, there are some legitimate needs, like a massive computer overhaul of the department of defense and things that do cost money. Is this new front in any way fiscally conservative . No, right . Michael . No, its not. Its not. I think thats part of the reconciliation. A lot of folks want more defense spending, but at what cost . You have to offset that. Given what the president s budget, at least preliminarily is looking at, those savings arent there. How much can you get out of 17 of the budget . Thats going to be a big point that paul ryan and conservative hawks inside the house and senate are going to have toome to the table with a whether or not the president gets his way. And people losing their health care. Dear trump voters, trump spoke to your genuine pain, the fading of the American Dream and he won your votes. Will he deliver . The truth is, among the biggest losers from trump policies will be you, trump voters, especially working and middle class. You were hoping you would elect a savior. Instead, donald trump is doing to you what he did to just about everybody who trusted him. Hes betraying you. The sooner you recognize that, you can push for policies to protect your health care and Social Security. Defend the integrity of the Health Care System and your own interest. You have a false savior. You will have to turn on him to save yourselves and our nation. Is that going a little too far too soon . I dont know. Its the typical american relic of jeremiah. The sermon theres a lot of theres a lot of history that backs this up. Yeah, i think its really important. We talked about this during the general election, both sides failed to speak to working people. The policies of the reagan revolution and clintonism decimated every day, ordinary people working their behinds off to make ends meet. Trump came into that space. Yeah. In some ways a space that was and judgment on the obama years and said we are going to change matters. Yeah. And what we see. Tax reform. What we see . Deregulation. We see policies that defined the landscape since the 80s. I think it is reasoble to conclude that every day workers, black, brown, white, will not benefit from the policies that trump put forward. It might be a kind of exaggerated rhetoric, but John Heilemann. A fascinating story, johnson who covered Trumps Campaign wrote this piece. She drove across iowa and talked to 100 trump votered in iowa and found they are having misgivings, not mixed feelings. They have not turned on him yet. A lot said now as they see him in action, they are quezy. He spoke to working people. Will he help them . Still ahead, democrats just elected a new party chairman. Activists are looking to shake up the rest of the partys leadership. Well talk to the senates number two democrat, dick durbin. Plus of course, you know, it was an amazing thing to hear la la land. We would love to have won best picture. We are so excited for moonlight. Emma stone speaking eloquently after the epic mix up involving the envelope in Warren Beaties hand. How did they blow the biggest momentld of the night . Morning joe is back in a moment. S ke a trip to la plata, colombia. This is boris calvo. Thats pepe. Boris doesnt ju grow good coffee, boris grows mindblowing coffee. And because we pay him a fair price, he improves his farm to grow even Better Coffee and invest in his community, which makes his neighbor, gustavo, happy. Thats blanca. Yup, pepe and blanca got together. Things happen. All this for a smoother tasting cup of coffee. Green mountain coffee. Packed with goodness. When i was too busy with the kids to get a repair estimate. I just snapped a photo and got an estimate in 24 hours. My Insurance Company definitely doesnt have that. You can leave worry behind when liberty stands with you™ Liberty Mutual insurance a mihappy birthday, sweetie oh, millies. Trick or treat were so glad to have you here. What if we treated great female scientists like they were stars . Yasss queen what if millie dresselhaus, the first woman to win the National Medal of science in engineering, were as famous as any celebrity . [millie dresselhaus was seen having lunch today. ] [. Rumors of the new discovery. ] what if we lived in a world like that . crowd applauding we know a place thats already working on it. This is not a joke, moonlight has won best picture. Moonlight, best picture. Awkward. That happened, actually. Good morning, everyone. Its monday, february 27th. Welcome to morning joe. Joe has the morning off. Did you all see that . I watched this morning. I need you all to give your cell phones. Well go over that later. With us on set, political analyst and coauthorsover game change. Msnbc political analyst, former democratic congressman, harold ford jr. And in washington, msnbc political analyst and former chairman of the republican National Committee michael steel. No, im serious, your cell phones. Would you hand them over . If you asked, sure. What happened . Did you see the oscars . I saw it. Whoa the epic, best picture blunder, possibly the worst in history, someone gave Warren Beatie the wrong envelope for the biggest prize. Take a look. And the Academy Award for best picture you are awful. Come on. La la land. Right after announcing la la land when the camera goes to them, it says emma stone. Then as film makers from la la land take the stage to accept the award, an accountant from Price Waterhouse cooper, the company that certifies the votes, came running out on stage. Im sorry. Theres a mistake. Moonlight you won best picture. This is not a joke. This is not a joke, im afraid they read the wrong thing. This is not a joke. Moonlight has won best picture. Moonlight best picture. I would like to see you get an oscar anyway. Why not give out a bunch of them. Im going to be proud to hand it to my friends from moonlight. Warren, what did you do . Im going to tell you what happened. I opened the envelope and it said emma stone, la la look. Thats why i took a long look at fe and at you. I wasnt trying to be funny. My god. The hollywood audience just as shocked as ever. The film makers of moonlight take the stage for their award. Even in my dreams, this could not be true. To hell with it. This is true. My goodness, it is true, its not fake. We have been on the road with with them so long. It was so gracious and generous to them. My love to la la land. I dont know what to say. Im not sure it is real. Thank you to the academy. It is so humbling to be standing up here with hopefully still the la la crew. No, they are gone. Its humbling to be up here. Horrible. Look at this part. Do you think he set fay up . I dont. One would consider that a Mike Barnicle move. Hes looking for a second opinion. I think hes looking for a second opinion. He was hoping someone from backstage might he should have said, do you have the wrong and showed it to them in the front. Think about the pressure you are under in that moment. Its not supposed to go wrong. It cant go wrong. They cant give you the wrong envel lope. Here is what didnt go wrong. Willie geists sister, we have been watching this series that she created. Libby geist won and award. She won for best documentary. And the oscar goes to o. J. made in america. And the oscar goes to o. J. Ahhh ahhh im going to cry. Thats the geist household. Oh, my god. That is so cute. Oh, my god. Its a family night. Thats incredible. Congratulations, willie. I cannot believe it. Libby. Amazing. Oscar winner. Incredible thing. An incredible piece of work, i will say. If you havent seen it, its a brilliant thing. They knew they had the chance to win the Academy Award. Its an eighthour long documentary. They put it on for a couple weekends in new york and l. A. To qualify for consideration in the documentary category and it paid off. It did. I dont watch anything, i just dont have the time. I sat there and i think i watched five hours. Is that possible . Its possible. In a row. Bing watched with her. All right, to politics. Jimmy kimmel was outstanding. He was. The steve harvey line. I thought he was great. He was very good. I didnt get to the end. We are all prokimmel. Everyone is prokimmel, except matt damon. Lets get to politics. A day before the president makes his first address to a joint session of congress, the nbc news wall street journal shows an historic disapproval rating. The only president in modern polling to begin with this rating. 44 approve, 48 disa i prove. The numbers come as the white house is cracking down on weeks. Remember when i asked for your phones . I do remember. This really happened. According to politico, press Secretary Sean Spicer met with a dozen Communication Officers to discuss recent leaks. Staffers were told to dump their government issued and personal phones to prove they have nothing to hide. The irony, of course, is this story was leaked to politico. Im trying to invision that happening. Do you have inside report . Did they all put them in a basket and people went through the phones . I would say no way. Is that what happened . It seems to suggest the people in the room felt compelled to put their phones on the table. How many in the room . Not sure. The relationship with the press continues to escalate. Friday, he doubled down on his criticism of what he calls fake news. We are all fightinging the fake news. Its fake. Phony, fake. A few days ago, i called the fake news the enemy of the people and they are. They are the enemy of the people. Because they have no sources, they just make them up when there are none. Just hours after that speech at cpac, the white house held a press briefing, but it was not open to all reporters. Cnn, buzz feed and New York Times, the los Angeles Times, the hill and politico were some of the outlets barred from covering the briefing. Has this ever happened before . No. Never. Anybody seen this before . The Associated Press and time were invited, but they declined to attend. Spicer defended the idea to limit the press. I think we have shown an abundance of accessibility. We have brought reporters into the process. When they dont get their answer, we have gone above and beyond with making ourselves, our team and Briefing Room more accessible than any Prior Administration. I think you can take that to the bank. Thats fake news. I dont know what he would base that on. I understand hes upset, but i used to defend sean. This is indefensible. He knows better. As much as z i may not like things written about him, you dont take it on by barring the people. You counter with facts. Thats an unfortunate moment. Im hopeful sean and those in the white house will try to dissuade this president and whoever else might be behind this decision. This is not healthy. What is the end game, Mark Halperin . The war with the media that is getting so ugly. This is a guy, nice guy, but his very first act in this presidency is walk into a hosz taj video talking about crowd size, forced by a boss whose ego was busted by talking about crowd size that he made his press person walk out there and do a press availability on crowd size. They are talking about his very first press his very first act in this presidency. They are looking at the media as not being honest and trust worthy. This is getting concerning. America not the Washington Press corps. This is a fundamental principle about the press holding the power of the white house accountable. I dont think it will stand. Im hopeful it is not repeated. Im heartened by their widespread reaction. People around the country should look at this, not as a baseball thing, but democracy being violated. The white house will not like the press coverage. They cannot penalize News Agencies for content of their reporting. They cant. Still ahead on morning joe, we continue our coverage on President Trump and the media and why his experience with new york city tabloids informs the approach to the press now. Plus you cannot have somebody, a friend of mine, jeff sessions, who was on the campaign and who was an appointee. You are going to need to use the statute and office to take not just a recuse. You cant just give it to your deputy. You do have to do that. Should there be a special prosecutor to look into the ties between russia and the Trump Campaign . Well talk about it with senator dick durbin. You are watching morning joe. Well be right back. And the wolf huffed and puffed. Like you do sometimes, grandpa . Well, when you have copd, it can be hard to breathe. It can be hard to get air out, which can make it hard to get air in. So i talked to my doctor. She said. Symbicort could help you breathe better, starting within 5 minutes. Symbicort doesnt replace a rescue inhaler for sudden symptoms. 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E trade did you know slow internet can actually hold your business back . Say goodbye to slow downloads, slow backups, slow everything. Comcast business offers blazing fast and reliable internet thats over 6 times faster than slow internet from the phone company. Say hello to internet speeds up to 250 mbps. And add phone and tv for only 34. 90 more a month. Call today. Comcast business. Built for business. Before the break, we were talking about the president s crackdown on the Media Outlets and the attempt to stop leaks from the white house. His understanding of the press is a product of the time in his rough and tumble world of the new york tabloids. Linda stasi who chronicled his marriage and gossip, the marriage to marla maples in the 90s, coif predicted theage tile. He would get mad if stories didnt come out as he wanted. It never occurred to him he couldnt control everything. Now, he is shocked hes not in control of the press. Multiple reports have come out saying President Trump hid his own identity to push selfpromoting stories in the 1980s, posing on the phone, like with an accent or something as his own Public Relation man under the fake names of john miller and john baron. This is our president. Last spring, the Washington Post posted a 14minute audio clip of a reporters interview with john miller in 1991. Take a look. Whats your name again . John miller. And you work with donald trump . Yes, thats correct. What kind of comment is coming from your agency, or from donald . Just that he really decided he wasnt, you know, he didnt want to make a commitment. Coming out of a marriage that hes starting to do tremendously well financially. He called and wanted to go out with him, that i can tell you. One of the other people that you are writing about, by the way, im sort of new here. What is your position . I handle pr because he gets so much of it. Frankly, i can tell you off the record, get to you you and talk off the record, i can tell you, he didnt care if he got bad pr until he got a divorce. Oh, my god. No. Yeah. This miller guy knows a lot about trump. He does a great trump imitation. Incredible. He was brandnew. Brandnew, just started. When the tapes emerged last may, President Trump denied it was him. I dont think it was me. It doesnt sound like me. I dont know what they are talking about. I have no idea. The post say this is is something you did rather routinely, you would call reporters and plant stories and say you were john miller or john baron, but it was you on the phone. Is that something you did with regularity . No, it was not me on the phone. It was not me on the phone. It doesnt sound like me on the phone. When was this . 25 years ago . Well ends the block with is. Maureen dowd writes trump versus the pss. The president s intense torrid relationship is in full the war of the roses bloom. Its with the press, the mirror for the first narcissist. President trump thinks that the m mirror is cracked and the coverage is fake. Many in the press spanning the ideological spectrum think he is cracked and that a lot of pronouncements are fake. Can this strange relationship be saved . Probably not. Its going to end like the plays and movies from a fellow to endless love where the mutual attraction is so powerful, it is toxic. Trump could not live without the press. It is his track. Many may disdain how trump uses them, they know they have a rare story and a tantalizing, antagonizing protagonist. Im going to read from russell mead that warns we cannot preach. We need a credible president badly. We need credibility from him. I feel more concerned about the success of his presidency every day when he acts like this. Coming up on morning joe, japanese billionaire met with president elect trump and promised 50 billion worth of investment in the United States. Now hes infusing the hottest start up with a ton of money. Brian sullivan joins us with that when we continue. How to win at business. Step one point decisively with the arm of your glasses. Abracadabra. The stage is yours. Step two choose la quinta. The only hotel where you can redeem loyalty points for a free nightinstantly and win at business. But i keep it growing by making every dollar count. Thats why i have the spark cash card from capital one. With it, i earn unlimited 2 cash back on all of my purchasing. And that unlimited 2 cash back from spark means thousands of dollars each year going back into my business. Which adds fuel to my bottom line. Whats in your wallet . Its my decision ito make beauty last. Roc® retinol, started visibly reducing my fine lines and wrinkles in one week. And the longer i use it, the better it works. Retinol correxion® from roc. Methods, not miracles. ™ getting heartburn doesnt mean i means i take rolaids®. Rolaids® goes to work instantly neutralizing 44 more acid than tums® for fast, powerful relief of your worst heartburn. I trust my rolaids®. Rolaids spells relief. The results, 235 for mr. Perez, and 200 for more allison. [ cheers and applause ] it is my great honor it is it is now my honor it is my honor now to present the gavel of the next chair of the Democratic National committee to mr. Tom perez. Mr. Perez, congratulations. The Democratic Party elected tom perez the next chairman of the dnc beating kell ellison. Some of ellison supporters in the crowd were angry by the decision, chanting, party of the people, not big money. But, immediately after taking over, perez named ellison his deputy chairman. They addressed the crowd, calling on their fellow democrats to come together. If you came here supporting me, if you are wearing the tshirt or any tshirt, i am asking you to give everything you got to support chairman perez. [ applause ] we will all be able to say whether you are sitting here, whether you are sitting outside, or whether you are looking on across america, we will all be able to say the united Democratic Party let the resis tense ensure this president was a oneterm president and elected democrats across this country. Mark halperin, what do you make of this new team and how it went down over the weekend . I think given the candidates, its the best the party could get. The Democratic Party is in an extraordinarily weak position. The jury is out whether tom perez can rebuild the party, fund raise, accommodate the far left wing of the party, make it acceptable to business, which needs to be done by any viable party. The Democratic Party has bigger problems than the dnc right now. Where do you begin with sort of their order of business in terms of bringing the Party Back Together . It seems first of all, take a look at jimmy carter. He was talking during a sermon at a Church Servicebout the defeat of the democrats. 2016 election common working class people i cant wait for workers too. Africanamericans, hispanics and women. You havent mentioned white men. The white men, too, because we vote. Voted republicans because harold ford, jimmy carter was, like joe biden, concerned about the people they were forgetting in the run up to the election. Can this new team sort of capture the message . I hope. I think what he was saying, the president , if i heard him correctly, they ran a campaign with a message for blacks, hispanics, women, gays, forgot we are one country. Obama gave the speech we are not a red or blue, we are a purple nation and have to find our way back to a message like that and deal with the every day issues americans are dealing with. In the poll, you show with President Trump set down, he remained a net positive in important areas, whether or not he would change washington or if he was bold and decisive. Things a lot of americans are looking for and traits that were lacking with the democrats. The question for democrats is the Sanders Warren wing of the party, has it been weakened . If it has, its fine on one level, but we can ignore what exists on that side of the party. How do you bring that and marry it with it . For all the key seats, as chairman perez said eloquently, up and down the ballot. It would be smart for him to convene democratic mayors across the country. What are you dealing with . All across the country, deal with crime and inequality. Listen. If you are serious about the message coming from the bottom up, let it come from the bottom up and listen to the leaders, including the fella from south bend, indiana. I cant pronounce his name. I thought he was impressive. Bring him in. Let him bring in mayors and elected officials about how the Democratic Party enables him and allows their message to move to the floor. Coming up on morning joe the fact is, the heat is on the republicans. Its on us. I said this at a meeting with the governors yesterday. We asked for authority to change the country. We have twothirds of the state houses in america. We have a house, we have the senate, we have the white house. Its now on us to produce results. One of the things we need to do is engage with the public. I understand why members of congress dont like it. You know what . You asked for the job. Go do it. With pressure mounting on republicans, can democrats capitalize . Senator dick durbin joins us. You are watching morning joe. Well be right back. My belly pain and constipation . Ive heard it all. Eat more fiber. Flax seeds. Yogurt. Get moving. Keep moving. I know try laxatives. Been there, done that. My chronic constipation keeps coming back. I know. Tell me something i dont know. Vo linzess works differently from laxatives. Linzess treats adults with ibs with constipation or chronic constipation. 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And right now save 400 on our most popular mattresses. Go to sleepnumber. Com for a store near you. I voted for trump. I love my popsy from here to knoxville. Popsy had to see a doctor. I was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. A lot of people think that people that are on the Affordable Care act are gaming the system. Its just people like me. The Affordable Care act saved my life. Everybodys popsy should get the care they need. I am still here and i am still fighting. Tell Congress Save my popsys care. How to win at business. Step one point decisively with the arm of your glasses. Abracadabra. The stage is yours. Step two choose la quinta. The only hotel where you can redeem loyalty points for a free nightinstantly and win at business. Its only been one month in office. Hes got four years. Secondly, i think you have to take the man for his word that he wants to unify the country. Its hard with the news media being so split up. When i was president , you know, you mattered a lot more because there was like three of you. Now, theres all kinds of information being bombarded out. People can say things anonymously. Its a different world. Did you ever consider the media to be the enemy of the American People . I consider the media to be indispensable to democracy. We need an independent media to hold people like me into account. Power can be addictive and it can be corrosive. Its important for the media to call to account people who abuse their power, whether it be here or elsewhere. One of the things i spent a lot of time doing was trying to convince a person like Vladimir Putin to accept the notion of an independent pre and, its kind of hard to, you know, tell others to have an independent free press when we are not willing to have one ourselves. That sums it up. President george w. Bush speaking moments ago on today. Joining us now, member of the Senate Judiciary committee, democratic whip, dick durbin of illinois. Good to have you back on the show. What did you think of the former president . I like that guy. I look back and think moments after 9 11, when this country was in complete turmoil, he said this muslim religion is a religion of peace. They are corrupting the beliefs. What an amazing, historic statement to make at that moment. I wish we heard more of it today. Now he gives reference 47 of people get their news from facebook. You can tell, you know, hes really put his finger on it. You used to matter more when there were only three of you. I like that. At the same time, whats happening between this current president and the media is somewhat disturbing. Beyond that . Its troubling. He questioned the integrity of our judiciary, socalled judges and judges you cant trust because of their ethnic background, then he goes in and goes after the media. The fact is, this is a tenuous moment where well be tested on constitutional issues. You are just back from meeting with lithuania officials. Ties on russia and whether or not ey should be fully investigated. Take a look. As a former president , wod you like to see a special prosecutor appointed to look into this once and for all and give the American People answers . First of all, i think we all need answers. Whether or not its a special prosecutor is the right way to go, you are talking to the wrong guy. I have great faith in richard burr the head of the Intelligence Committee, really good guy and independent thinker. If he recommended a special prosecutor, i would be it would have more credibility with me. What im really i have never been a lawyer. You know, im not sure the right avenue to take. I am sure, though, that question needs to be answered. Mark halperin, he is saying, what . Maybe. Hes got he says hes got faith in burr. I would be interested in what you think, senator, when the republicans in the senate say we are going to do a thorough investigation. Based on what you have seen, do you think they will do a thorough, apolitical investigation . I sat on the Intelligence Committee for four years. You couldnt find a sign on a door. The meetings were secret. We need an independent and transparent investigation. Do you trust Mitch Mcconnell and senator burr and other republicans to do that . No. I think we need a special prosecutor or independent commission is that because you dont trust them . The venue they have chosen guarantees the American People will not know what is said and ultimately, months from now, maybe years from now, they will produce a classified report available to the American People if the approval is gained from the white house. Do you think they are doing that because they are trying to protect the white house . To keep it under wraps . Why . They think itight be embarrassing. As one said off the record, we are supposed to investigate the Affordable Care act, not other republicans. When i go overseas to poland and sit down with the polish leader, he says if you wont investigate the russian invasion into your election, what faith do we have under article v that you would come to our aid . You were asked that question . I was. It isnt just Vladimir Putins troops, it is a cyber war, a propaganda war they are fighting throughout this area. Why within the we taking this seriously, too. This is a fact verified by every major intelligence agency, the russians invaded our sovereignty. Michael steel, its not just whether or not there should be investigation, its that the outcome needs to be trusted, not just by the American People, but if you listen to the senator, by the rest of the world. We take it seriously. Go ahead, michael. Thats exactly right. I think thats one of the challenges that confronts this administration out of the box is establishing that trust on something that is so important and so much who we are as americans. Our electoral system. If we cannot hold that up as a beacon around the world, if we are not willing to fight for it and defend it, i think the senator has a good point. If folks are saying, if you wont defend that, how are you going to defend us. You elected a new chairman. The democrats are back on their heels, hell, a lot back on their heels right now. How do you see the party turning itself around and going down a new path to move back to a governing majority when the new chairman comes out and says something we heard and are familiar with eight years ago, wanting to make it a oneterm president. Is that going to harken down a path we have already been or are democrats looking to open a new front that is clabtive and combative. I have never seen it before and i have been at this business for a while. There is an energy and spontaneity that i have never seen before. People are showing up in towns, illinois has a meeting based on an internet solicitation of a group called ind viz zable. 250 people showed up. They said we are going to slate a democratic slate of candidates for a township and we are going to work the doors, work the phones, get people registered. That spontaneity is at the base of our party and the november 8 election brought it to life. Okay. President george w. Bush was the last winning without the popular vote. He responded to how trump is handling the devision in the country. You took office in 2001 after an extremely contentious election, controversial end to that, the Supreme Court decided if the nation was incredibly divided, how would you compare the divisions we faced then to what we are living through now . Its hard to compare times. One thing is certain, the job is a tough job. Everybody looks at the presidency when they campaign one way. Then they get in office and find out theres a reality to the job. You know, theres times we have been divided. I remember growing up as a kid, out of college, we were really divided. Its, you know, it requires a lot of people coming together to make us united. How does that happen in this climate . Ed eddie . How has trump handled the division . Thats the question. Has he stoked hem . Has he stoked our fears in terms of the immigration ban and the executive orders . How has he handled the division. Where would you find the olive branch in the first six weeks . I havent seen it. Yeah. I havent seen effort beyond casual conversation to meet with the president a couple, three times. When it comes to executive orders, theres no olive branch, its confrontation. He had to dismiss his own attorney general. He had three federal courts stop his executive order on the muslim ban, then he had to accept the resignation of his security adviser. Its been a divisive time. What about the divisions within the Democratic Party . The race between ellison and perez reflected, a deep schism. These are the residuals from the president ial campaign. A lot of bernie supporters will always believe the mainstream Democratic Party is suspect by the way it raises money. I can tell you, when it comes to the senate, with few exceptions so far, we have been able to bridge the gaps. We have the democrats working together in a positive way. I feel very positive about whats going to happen here. Tom perez, a talented person, won in a close contest. Keith ellison could not been more gracious. Im the deputy. Anybody for me, be for this team, for this party. Thats great. They both are really strong players in all of this. Big picture for the party, what do you make of the poll number and the new nbc poll that shows this, 4445, split, essentially, about whether or not they support the temporary travel ban from seven countries . What does that tell you about the country that you are dealing with when you are trying to build a party within that . It shows me Donald Trumps message has been effective with a lot of people. Thats why he ended up with as many votes as he did. People are concerned about security. The democrats are concerned about security. We are. We believe the muslim ban, put it in shorthand, just cant be based on fact. We dont know these seven countries are the sources of the greatest insecurity for america. Yet, he signaled them out. Here we have muslimamericans across the board and hispanic americans concerned about where we are headed. In his cpac speech, trump spelled out his philosophy on foreign policy, get a sense of the trump doctrine forming here and American Leadership in the world. Take a look. In the middle east, we have spent as of four weeks ago, 6 trillion. Think of it. By the way, the middle east is in i mean its not even close, its in worse shape than it was 15 years ago. If our president s would have gone to the beach for 15 years, we would be in better shape than we are right now, that i can tell you. Global cooperation, dealing with other countries, getting along with other countries is good. Its very impornt. But, there is no such tng as a global anthem, a global currency or a global flag. This is the United States of america that im representing. Im not representing the globe. Im representing your country. When it comes to imposing sanctions on Vladimir Putin, do we want cooperation or just america . If its just america, its pointless. If we have european nations and others joining us in the effort, then it has an impact. For the president to say america first, good. We are proud to be americans. Sure. To be effective, we bring together allies, people who share our values and try to impose, at least with some pressure, changes in the world to make it more peaceful. I dont know if it was that speech, but he was going off about paris. Paris, all these terrible things. I think the leader of france was a tad bit insulted. Mark halperin, is there a lot of thought put into how these words are being formed . If so, should we be scared . Hes saying things that are alarming. He says hes going to reach out and engage in diplomacy. Bull in a china shop. Hes not going to the international summits. When he does, you will see a different style. He thinks it will be effective. Hes going to have a lot of explaining to do when he gets there. You said democrats are united. Your colleague has a valuable commodity in his email list of supporters from the campaign. Hes resisting. Would you urge him to make that available to the Democratic National xh National Committee . Bernie sanders is going to help. How, i cant say. Do you think its urgent. You bet. He has to do it at his pace and his way. I think he shares our goal. What is his argument in handing it over . I dont know. I dont want to push too hard. I think the result will be positive. Look in the camera and address it. See you back in washington, bernie. There you go. Senator dick durbin thank you very much. Up next, the aftermath of the Deadly Mission in yemen. The father of fallen navy s. E. A. L. William ryan owens is demanding an investigation into his sons death. We are going to talk about that and why he declined to meet with the president. Keep it here on morning joe. Like what . Like a second bee helmet with protective netting. Or like a balm . You know . Or a cooling ointment for the skin. How about a motorcycle . Or some bee repellant. Im just spitballing here. Nothing stops us from doing right by our customers. Ally. Do it right. Told you not to swat em. Ally. Do it right. This is the story of Green Mountain coffee and fair trade, told in the time it takes to brew your cup. Lets take a trip to la plata, colombia. This is boris calvo. Thats pepe. Boris doesnt just grow good coffee, boris grows mindblowing coffee. 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The microsoft cloud turns information into insight. Some things are simply impossible to ignore. The strikingly designed lexus nx turbo and hybrid. The suv that dares to go beyond utility. Experience amazing. Sfx engine revving silence in a moment, well take a look at the president s Budget Proposal coming out today, massive spending hikes for the military intelligence and Homeland Security performance. First, we look at the ground we covered today. He is the only president in modern polling to begin his presidency with a net negative rating. In that poll, a lot of people like his policies. Sean spicer met with a dozen Communication Officers to dis recent leaks. The president needs to look in the mirror and realize thi is from people that want to help him. The white house held a press briefing, but not open to all reporters. As much as i dont like things written about him, you dont bar people. The state is under attack. Im deeply disturbed by this. The white house will not like the press coverage, but they cannot change the rules. Concerned reporting is forthcoming. They have to put their big boy pants on and deal with this effectively. This is a guy obsessed with the press. Part of a u. S. Democracy. They are the values we are fighting for. This is tinnous moment. It will be tested. He will not be judged by history, by whether he beats the press z. The next chair to the democratic committee, mr. Tom perez. The best the party could get. The jury is out if he can rebuild the party. If you are serious about the message coming from the bottom up, let it come from the bottom up. A person who creates the image or message of the party. And the oscar goes to o. J. Ahhh ahhh i absolutely love that. That is the geist household watching libby geist, i was going to say christine. Thats willies wife. Winning an oscar for the o. J. Dock. Thats the family. Play it again. I cant get enough. The dog. The dog is like mommy, daddy, whats going on . This is awesome. Congratulations to the entire geist family. You all are somewhat talented. Another family celebrating oscars. A red carpet with emma and lila walking it. They are 4 1 2, can you believe it. Alex, they are so cute. Emma, lila and who liked the dresses better . They had emojis. Very fun. I was asleep. Did you make it to the end . Absolutely not. Did you miss the whole faux pas . Watched it this morning. Oh, my gosh. Back to news. President trump will reveal his Budget Priority with what Senior Administration Officials Say are spending hikes. Claiming they will be matched dollar for dollar with cuts to other agencies. The president will scale back spending in nondefense areas, including the state department and the Environmental Protection agency according to reports. The budget outline does not reduce funding for the largest entitlement programs including Social Security and medicare. With us now, cnbcs Brian Sullivan with more on this. Brian . 73 of the budget is Social Security, medicare, medicaid. If you are not going after that, you are not going after much meat at all. Thats fixed cost, almost. Put this in perspective. The Defense Budget is 523 billion a year. State department is 66 billion and e. P. A. Is 8 billion. Those are small agencies compared to defense. If you add whatever 10 or 20 billion or however much to defense, are you taking that out of state . That would be 1520 of their budget. I know people there that i have spoken with are nervous. What, you broke this exclusive from the Japanese Firm soft bank, megainvestment in a u. S. Start up. Tell us about this. The only reason you care is because it involved the president , it involves trump. The guy met with trump, Masayoshi Son met with him promised 50 billion in investment. Sources tell me, they are going to invest 3 billion if you want to lease a desk and they are all over the world. This is massive investment. Valued the company at 20 bill 2 billi billion. The biggest and richest start up in the world. Maybe this is the reason i bring this up. Maybe this is the first of these investments. This guy, soft bank, masayoshis son running sprint. 153 locations. President george w. Bush on today this morning talked about a wide range of issues. Here, now, we have him weighing in on the controversial executive order that President Trump signed restricting travel, the muslim ban. Take a look. Bank people from seven predominantly muslim countries from entering this country, do we make it easier or harder to fight the war on terrorism . Well, i think its very hard to fight the war on terrorism if we are in retreat. I think we learned that lesson that, you know, if the United States decides to pull out before a free society emerges, its going to be hard to defeat them. Just want to make sure i understand. You are for or against the ban . For an immigration policy that is welcoming and upholds the law. So, is he before or against it . The body language suggests hes against it. Hes made it his practice, he is not talking about successors. His criticism on the media as well. Yeah. Certain things tough have a rock solid approach. That would be one of them. Now to this. The father of fallen navy s. E. A. L. Chief petty officer, william ryan oens is demanding an investigation into his sons death. Owens was killed in the raid in yemen. One senior military official says quote, almost everything went wrong. His father, bill owens tells the miami herald dont hide behind my sons death to prevent an investigation. I want an investigation. The government owes my son an investigation. Bill owens, himself a veteran and retired Police Detective refused to meet with the president. I told them i didnt want to make a scene about it, but my conscience wouldnt let me talk to him. The white house maintains the mission was a success. There are plenty of critics, including senator john mccain. Yesterday, a spokesperson said she would imagine the president would be supportive of an investigation. Michael steele, your thoughts . Yeah, you know, thats a tough place for the president to be in. In one sense you have the loss of a soldier and the familys response to that. Unlike what we have seen with the gold star family in the past, the more the administration stays above that kind of conversation and understands and respects that fathers position, stay true to where they want to take the country, the better off the administration will be. Hopefully, we wont see emotional or personal response on this. As we wrap up and looking ahead to the president tomorrow addressing, final thoughts. Massive resis tense, march 8, a day without women. A strike across the globe. We will see the resis tense continue. Mark halperin . Tomorrow night a big deal. Everybody is going to watch to see what the president says and how he is received by lots of audiences including democrat who is arent interested in working with him. Warren buffett said any of his employees, got hundreds of thousands, get the sweet 16 perfect on their ncaa bracket, he will give a million a year for life to that employee orem ployees. Apparently its a lot harder than you think it is. Its statistically impossible. Stop the war on the media. Fake news, fake presidency, thats what its going to come down to. A fake presidency. We are live on capitol hill tomorrow and wednesday. Morning joe coverage of President Trumps address to congress. That does it for us this morning. Stephanie ruhle picks up the coverage right now. Thanks so much, mika. Good morning. Im stephanie ruhle. We are talking budget crunch. President trump to announce a new budget today with huge increases in military spending and drastic cuts everywhere else. Going to get a massive budget request for our beloved military. New calls for an investigation into his teams russia connections from republicans this time. You are going to need to use the special prosecutors statute